


A Question of Tact

by KrisWolf



Series: The Questions series [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU Sterek, Alternate Universe, Angst, Creepy Hunters, Different werewolf mythology, Kissing, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mystery, No Hale Fire, POV Stiles, PTSD Stiles, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Derek Hale, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Skinwalker, The Hales are still dead, Wolf Derek, native american folklore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 23:49:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8598709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrisWolf/pseuds/KrisWolf
Summary: After an unexpected visit on Stiles' birthday, he is faced with a Council of Hunters expecting him to know everything there is to know about... well everything. Then death threats from a psychopath start coming in, all while his parents are still fighting and Derek is dealing with the aftermaths of Peter's death, so Stiles is starting to wonder when he will actually just get to be an eighteen year old teenager trying to figure out his life, because surprise graduation is right around the corner and everybody seems to be leaving Beacon Hills behind... and what the hell does he even want to do with his life?





	1. What to Expect When You Are an Aleksy

**Author's Note:**

> The third part is finally here! Yay! I am so sorry it ended up being delayed so long, but unfortunately life happened. I traveled during the summer and therefore no writing happened and then my masters in medicin started and kicked my ass into oblivion, but now I have finally gotten to plot down and hope to be posting a new chapter each week. I apologize for my summary writing skills and hope you will read this anyway <3
> 
> If anyone has any questions about the plot please just ask away, but most of them will probably be answered if you either read A Question of Trust and A Question of Truth (which I hope you will) :D  
> I hope you will continue to post comments and leave kudos, because honestly, they make my day and let me know if you need me to add any tags or warnings.
> 
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people <3

Over the last year, I have had more than my share of life altering moments, but I don’t really understand this council business. I mean if they hate the idea of me this much, why they hell bother contacting me in the first place? Why bother putting me on the council, because simply killing me really does seem like a much simpler solution, if they want me dead?

Sleeping on it hasn’t helped either and hearing everybody close to me, arguing like crazy people about this as if I am not even in the room isn’t helping either. Seriously, we are _seven_ people in our kitchen right now and I don’t think any of the other six people are actually listening to anything anybody else has to say. My head feels like it is actually _pounding_ right now.

“Will everybody please shut up? I am eighteen, I am _a legal adult_ , I am going to be making this decision, and I can’t hear anything anybody is saying because you are all talking at once. So please, explain about this council again Ms. Davis.”

“Genim, the Council of Hunters are an old organization formed because the different families wanted to control each other, especially the more… passive families wanted to control the more aggressive ones by enforcing a codex, preventing them from going on killing rampages. Each of the original families received a seat and the different branches of each family had to decide which member would occupy the seat, often by fighting. Today most families vote, but some of the more traditional families still insist on fighting. Not all families occupy their seat at a given time, mostly because Hunters have a tendency to die young and some families have mostly retired from hunting.”

“If you want to compare the Council of Hunters to society, you can say they make the rules and judge cases according to those rules… sometimes better than others.”

“As Claudia just mentioned some of their decisions or rulings or whatever you want to call them are controversial at best. They are terrified of causing a scandal or indicating that hunters have done anything wrong, meaning they will usually rule in favor of hunters. They are allowed to kill rogue shifters and take revenge on murdered family, but the terms rogue shifter and revenge have been interpreted very much in favor of the Hunters and very much against skinwalkers.”

It sounds too horrible to be true. I mean how can something like this exist in a modern day society where everything is about justice and how being different is something to be celebrated. Sure, Trump has been elected president, but most people are racist assholes.

“After my family was attacked, I went to the council thinking they could help us… that they would punish whoever did this, but they did nothing… They made it sound like it was our own fault; that we should have been more careful. I have never felt as powerless as I did in that moment or as furious… _they_ saw the _pictures_ ; _they_ saw the bodies… and they still told me that it was our own fault and that they couldn’t make anybody accountable because they were too terrified of Gerard Argent.”

“My father had an unhealthy amount of control over the council… he had dirt on pretty much every members on their and his death has caused waves. Most families have no idea what to do, while the others are trying to use that to their advantage to seize power. I have met these people and 50% of them aren’t nice people, Stiles.”

“So what you are saying is that they are a bunch of traditionalist assholes who misuse their power to kill whatever skinwalkers they want and make sure said skinwalkers can’t do anything about it. Please tell me they aren’t all like that?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“But what does that have to do with me?”

They watch each other as if debating who get to tell me the bad news, and I want to scream ‘just tell me already’, but I am not sure how it would affect the already tense situation.

“It is connected to you being an Aleksy. Ever since the creation of the council people have tried to secretly murder us, because our Spark gives us an advantages the traditionalist hate. They believe it makes us abominations, as bad as the skinwalkers, and they hate that we contaminate their precious hunter blood by existing.”

“Then why aren’t I dead already? Why offer me a seat on the council?”

“Because they are terrified of us at the same time. You don’t yet understand the power our Sparks give us; we have infinite potential and you are young. They want to see if they can turn you, change your mind, so they can use you.”

“So they are manipulative egotistic racist assholes, great.”

The head pounding hasn’t gotten any better and I feel like my entire world is diving into chaos yet again without me being able to do anything. Hey, Stiles happy birthday and by the way there is a Council of more or less crazy hunters who want you dead. How does this keep happening to me?

“I am a senior and I want to go to college and have an actual life, you know, but how does that even work with this Council business? Are they going to forbid me from doing anything I want to do or do they have veto power or what?”

“They can’t make any decisions concerning your life as long as you attend your meetings, which means you can go to college as long as you are able to travel to meetings in a certain time frame, which only eliminates schools outside the U.S.”

“Right, I wasn’t really planning on going out of state, but good to know. Do any of these people even consider skinwalkers’ rights or are they all traditionalist assholes?”

“Something I learned while presenting my family’s case is that they are too terrified of being the odd one out to do anything. They look at your family history and want to avoid being targeted the same way, so they won’t ever stand up for anything. Still, some of them are working secretly to improve our options when tragedies happen to skinwalker families.”

In all the time, I have known Derek I have never seen him be as passionate and emotional about anything as he is about this. I can’t even imagine what a teenage Derek must have felt standing in front of these people having just most of his family and being told that the hunters did no wrong; that they wouldn’t help them. How can someone bring themselves to do something like that to another human being grieving their family? It makes me want to scream and fight, because how can you betray someone’s trust that way?

“Stiles, I know this is a lot to take in and you don’t have to make your decision today. You should take a few days to think about it and ask all the questions you need…”

“Deaton, I don’t need to think about it…”

“Stiles…”

“No, dad… if I can prevent what happened to Derek’s family from happening to anybody else, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

All six people standing in front of me look shocked. I don’t think any of them actually expected me to say yes. Well, maybe Derek did but the underlying terror in his eyes makes me wonder if he is as terrified as I am about what this might mean.

“Stiles, you need to understand that if you choose this, your training will be intensified, because you will need to learn so much more than you can possibly imagine about how to act, about history, and about the whole decision making process. I will help you, but any kind of misstep could mean giving them the excuse they have been looking for to kill him. Before you accept your seat, I need you to understand that, because neither of us want to see you dead.”

This might be the closest thing I have ever seen Chris Argent coming to admitting that he actually cares about what happens to me. Sure, I have always sensed that he might actually see me as more than the kid constantly falling on his ass during training.

“I know this is not going to be easy, but this could be my chance to make a difference. This could actually mean that skinwalkers won’t have to fear hunters every second of every day. I know I might be dreaming, but what if it could be reality?”

“Stiles, I can’t let you do this!”

“Claudia! I am _eighteen_ , I am _a legal adult_ – this means I get to make my own decisions and my own mistakes, no matter what you say.”

“Why don’t we talk about this tomorrow, when everybody has had some time to think it through. Everybody’s emotions are running high right now and we don’t want anybody saying something they can’t take back in the heat of the moment.”

This is the first time my dad has said anything today and I can’t help feeling like he would love to agree with my mother, but he also knows me well enough to know that I am going to do what I want to do no matter what they say. He does know me pretty well.

Still, I can’t help feeling that my mother knows something she isn’t telling us. She has this strange expression of terror she is trying to hide, but she clearly will not talk to us about it. I am just scared what this secret might mean for us in the long run.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day, my dad pretty much stays in a five-foot radius of me, constantly asking if I am sure I am all right or if I am regretting my decision. Honestly, the only thing I am rethinking is bringing him into this, because I really want to punch him in the face, which wouldn’t do anything good for our newly mending relationship.

When he finally goes to bed, I can feel myself taking a relieved breathe, because this means peace for a couple of hours. It also means that Derek can finally sneak into my bedroom, because I know him well enough to know he has been stalking our house since he left this afternoon.

“You do realize my dad would have let you use the front door; he doesn’t actually want to shoot you, no matter what he might have said.”

“I am not staying, I just wanted to make sure you are all right considering everything going on.”

“And with everything going on, you mean me being offered a seat on a council that most likely wants to kill me?”

“I really want to slap you right now.”

“But you _love_ me.”

“You do realize you are acting like a five year old right now?”

“Hey!”

It is nice to know that with everything going on; my relationship with Derek is still the same. He is still the secretly sarcastic hot person I have gotten to know over the last few months; he is still the person I have fallen in love with.

“I really I am fine, but you already know that stalker wolf. What? I am not going to pretend that we both don’t know that you have been watching me since you left this afternoon. I am betting you even had Boyd bring you food, because he secretly enables your little stalker habit.”

“You have already made up your mind haven’t you?”

“Well…”

“Stiles, they could kill you!”

“I know, but if I don’t do tis they might kill a lot more people than me…”

For some reason, it feels important that I explain this right, because I don’t think I can do this if I have Derek arguing against it every step of the way. No matter how little I want to admit it, he is probably one of the most important people in my life and he is my rock. I love him.

“For some reason, people actually think that I am a big deal or something… I am not sure I could live with myself if I choose differently.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? No arguing, no Stiles you have to change your mind?”

“I know you well enough to know that you won’t change your mind, so instead of making you feel horrible about doing something incredibly selfless and amazing, I am going to support you.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“That has to be a first.”

Derek kisses me and sits down in the bed next to me. As much as hoped he would say exactly that, I am not sure how to react. Nothing has ever been easy with me, but knowing he is there for me helps sooth some of that worry pulsing through my body.

“I know this might not be the best time, but I need to know if we are all right after everything that has happened over the last couple of months.”

“What do you mean stalker wolf?”

“I feel horrible about not doing anything about Peter sooner, because I should have known something was off with him; that he wasn’t the same Peter I knew before the massacre.”

“I won’t lie and tell you I wish you hadn’t done things different, of course I wish you had been honest with me sooner and when I found out you had lied to me, I was furious… but Peter was your only family, Derek. I don’t know if I would have done things differently had it been me. Sure, I am never going to agree with keeping quiet, but I understand why you did it.”

“I don’t understand what that means, Stiles.”

“I have forgiven you, now you need to find a way to forgive yourself.”

Thoughtful has always been a good look for Derek, but I am not sure how I feel about the obvious guilt in his eyes. I know he feels guilty and if he had come forward sooner things might have gone smoother, but Peter was his only family, so of course he is going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Suddenly, Derek moves to leave and I can’t help feeling panic rising in my chest. I can’t explain it, but I don’t want to be alone right now even with the mountain ash surrounding the house and the warding spells pulsing slowly in the back of my mind.

“Could you please stay until I fall asleep? I don’t want to risk any nightmares…”

“Sure, no problem.”

I get under the covers and Derek joins me as soon as I have gotten comfortable. His body feels like a furnace, but I don’t mind the heat right now. Having him hold me calms me, but at the same time, I am an eighteen year old teenager right next to his amazingly hot boyfriend who looks like a freaking model without even trying and his kisses makes me want to swoon.

“You know what, it really sucks that we aren’t having sex right now.”

His laugh makes my heart beat faster and when he kisses me, I can barely breathe. It isn’t passionate or rushed; it is the slow and loving kind of kisses that make you feel like you are floating. When the kisses end, Derek pulls me even closer, hiding his nose in my neck before inhaling strongly, while I can feel myself dosing of to sleep. The last thing on my mind before sleep takes over is how lucky I am to have Derek in my life.


	2. What Comes Next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a week longer than expected, but here it is. I hope you like it, even if there isn't all that much plot, but more explanations needed for the next couple of chapters and the new characters I am going to introduce. 
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos, I love hearing what you think :)  
> Tell me if I need to add any tags or warnings  
> Stay safe you lovely people <3

Monday, I am back at school. The hallways are filled with tired teenagers wishing the weekend didn’t have to end. I, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier that Monday has arrived after having spent the entire weekend fighting with my parents about my right to make my own decisions concerning my council seat. They haven’t really gotten used to the part where I turned eighteen yet, so the whole argument ended when my dear old dad screamed at Derek, ‘Are you fine sending my son into certain death or are you going to start speaking up anytime soon?’

Derek answered my dad very calmly ‘The council is going to try to kill Stiles anyway, so if he accept the seat, we might actually have a chance of convincing some of them to support me instead of murder me. Besides, you should both know that your son is never going to change his mind; he is to freaking stubborn for his own good.’

At this point, my dad and Claudia pretty much had to accept that I am going to accept the seat on the damn Council of Hunters, because I have some idea that I could actually change some things for the better. They aren’t happy with it, but they have accepted it.

Now I just have to tell my friends…

 

* * *

 

At lunch, everybody is sitting around what have become our regular table in the cafeteria and the conversation falls on college. The time has come for the awkward and fear college application conversations we have scheduled to have with the guidance counselor today.

“I can’t wait until they are send and it’s _over_!”

“You do realize you have to get accepted, right?”

“Yeah, but once they are sent I can’t change anything and all these stupid doubts will hopefully stop, so I can actually get some decent sleep.”

“Having troubles sleeping, Scotty?”

“Stiles...”

“Come on, I have called you that since you were like six years old.”

“And I am not six years old anymore. Where have you applied anyway?”

Thinking back, I realized I actually haven’t told Scott where I am applying for college since I did most of my preparations before our friendship got back on track. It is strange to consider how much things have changed over the past months. I mean I used to eat lunch alone hoping nobody would actually notice me, so high school could be over. Now I have more friends than I thought possible and they actually care about me.

“I have applied to Stanford and Berkeley, both is kind of unlikely, but then I have UCLA and worst case scenario Beacon Hills College. How about you Scotty?”

“University of California in Davis, Washington State College of Veterinary Medicine and Cornell. I am hoping for Davis, but we will see.”

“You two really shouldn’t underestimate your potential, those universities would be lucky to have you. Your grades aren’t bad and you have plenty of extracurricular activities.”

“Thank you Lydia. I am guessing MIT, Princeton, Harvard and maybe Berkeley.”

“You are almost right, Stiles. Actually Columbia instead of Berkeley.”

“Of course, New York is a draw.”

Lydia nods, knowing she is going to be able to choose from any of those schools, because her work in mathematics are already far above any average college student and our math teachers have given up on finding anything challenging enough for her.

“How are about the rest of you?”

“I am applying to Syracuse, Notre Dame and Berkeley, I am still hoping for a lacrosse scholarship, but we will see how it turn out.”

“Jackson, they are already fighting over you, you will get the scholarship. I am applying to Cal Tech, Columbia and Yale.”

“Uh, fancy Danny. Me and Boyd and both applying to UCLA and Beacon Hills College.”

“I am not really sure yet, after everything with my dad and the emancipation, I am probably going to take a gap year before deciding on anything.”

My heart always aches a little whenever Isaac mentions his dad, but overall he is really coming out of his shell. He has started participating in conversations and I have even heard him bitch about living with Derek, which really makes my day.

“That leaves you Allison, where are you applying?”

“Texas A&M, Purdue and École Normale Supérieure”

“Bless you.”

“It is a really great university in France; my family has a tradition of attending.”

The conversations returns to the brutality of college applications, but I can’t help the feeling not a lot of us are going to colleges anywhere near each other. We are most likely going to be across country from each other after the summer holidays and I am not sure what to do with that.

“Do you guys realize our dream colleges are all hundreds of miles apart? Almost none of us mentioned the same colleges just now, which means…”

“We are probably not going to be together next year.”

“Well that sucks.”

“Jackson Whitmore, are you actually going to miss us?”

“Shut up, Stilinski. It just sucks… now I am even going to miss you.”

Despite laughing, I want to hug Jackson, because I know he means it. During the whole process of finding out who his birth parents are, we have actually gotten quite close. I am not saying we are best friends or anything, that title still belongs to Scott, but he is a great person underneath all the sass and hard exterior. He is just a big softy.

For the rest of lunch, everybody is a bit quieter and I am lost in my own thoughts when we walk to class. It isn’t until Scott grabs my arm that I realize he has been trying to talk to me for minutes. He doesn’t look very comfortable and actually a little bit nervous.

“God you walk fast, Stiles.”

“I am sorry, buddy, I just got lost in my head.”

“No problem, I was just wondering if I could come to your training today.”

“Why? It really isn’t all that fun watching me flail around for hours, despite what it sounds like.”

Scott actually blushes a little and I have to put restrains on myself to not comment on it, because he just looks utterly adorable right now.

“I just miss you… we have barely seen each other in forever and I thought since you can’t get out of training, I could go to training with you.”

“Sure, you can come. I miss you too.”

I really do miss my best friend. I just thought Scott was too caught up in the whole Scott and Allison epic romance to have time to miss me too. Now I just hope that Chris isn’t planning on kicking my ass too thoroughly today, because I don’t fancy making too big of a fool of myself in front of Scott, no matter how entertaining it might be.

 

* * *

 

It turns out to be my first unofficial Hunters Council training session today, which somehow slip everybody’s minds. Apparently, the council is going to send somebody to supervise my training at some point, which means it is time for the crash course on what I am not supposed to do.

I am not sure how I feel about the whole thing, but I am glad Scott and Derek are with me today. I don’t think I would be able to do all of this on my own, because no matter how much I know this is the right thing to do, it is still not easy.

I can’t Deaton and Ms. Davis find anywhere, when we arrive, but Chris has filled the table in Deaton’s office with all kinds of dusty old books. I am guessing they are homework since the titles indicate boring reading about Council history.

“Hello Stiles, I hope the whole college application thing hasn’t been too hard on you.”

“Hello Chris, it was fine. I hope it is alright Derek and Scott are joining us today?”

“I have no issues with it. Now, I don’t have time to explain all the boring details, so as you have probably already guessed you will need to read these books for those. I will explain the broad strokes before the representative shows up, because we have no way of knowing how he feels about you.”

“So what you are saying is that we don’t know how much this person wants to kill me?”

“Something like that.”

Chris sits down in the armchair in the corner and gestures towards the couch where I make myself comfortable with Derek next to me. Scott is standing somewhere near the door, looking like he is ready to bolt being this close to his future father-in-law.

“Now, you have probably heard some of this before, but the Council of Hunters was formed about the old Hunter families and your family played a huge part in controlling the council and why the other families agreed to forming the council in the first place. At the time, there were wards between Hunter families over power and prestige and disagreement over how they should handle certain skinwalkers. Most hunters thought all skinwalkers should be eradicated because being a skinwalker is some kind of disease threatening to destroy humanity, while another group led by the Aleksy family understood that not all skinwalkers are born and most won’t ever be violent unless provoked, so they only wanted to hurt those who can’t be contained any other way. The negative fraction were losing ground because the Aleksy family had stepped in, so they thought forming the council would help them control the Aleksy and prevent them from gaining more power. In return, the Aleksy made them all agree to never harm a skinwalker who can be pacified another way, because your family wanted to protect skinwalkers and prevent future ignorance.”

“The whole ignorance part didn’t really work out as planned.”

“No, over the years, more and more Aleksy family members were mysteriously murdered by the negative fraction and for years, the hunter community thought you were extinct. I have a theory that this might be the reason why some families have gone back to their old ways, because they knew nobody would stop them. The fact that you are coming back and what you represent, it terrifies them, because it could mean they will be held responsible for all those horrible things they have done. Basically, they are terrified their ‘fun’ is going to end.”

Chris’ theory makes sense, but I am not sure what I can really do. It all feels so insurmountable to have all these people counting on me to do something, I want to happen so badly, but I have no idea how it can even happen. What can I even do by sitting on the council? I mean it is not as if they have to listen to the talkative gangly teenager even if he is an Aleksy.

“How does the Council of Hunters even work, because I keep picturing old men sitting in a circle screaming at each other?”

“It isn’t that far from the truth. The council consists of the original eleven families, there are other families, but they are… ‘younger’, so they don’t have a seat. The family chooses their own member through a tournament, where they show their fighting ability. Therefor the children of the original families are trained from an early age, some without knowing they are being trained.”

“Like Allison?”

“Yes. They Aleksy are feared, because none of the other families possesses the abilities they do. During council meetings, the eleven families vote on different matters. It can be situations with terrible actions against skinwalkers or feral skinwalkers threatening humans. They also form guidelines, but if they want change the guidelines, all the eleven families have to be present and they all have for vote yes or it is dismissed.

“So _everybody_ has to agree on something for anything to pass?”

“Which is why the deals and friendships and enemies behind the scenes are just as important and the arguments in the actual meeting. This is also another reason why they want you gone, because you would hold up any changes they will want to make in an anti-skinwalker direction.”

“But don’t they kill each other left and right, if they don’t agree with each other?”

“All votes are done anonymously to minimize assassinations for that particular reason.”

It feels so surreal and barbaric that a group of eleven people gets to decide the faith of so many innocent people. The frustration of having to deal with unreasonable people raised to believe they are better than skinwalkers must be enormous. I mean Just hearing about them makes me want to punch them in the face and I haven’t even met them yet.

“New members are awarded a guide by the council, a representative to oversee their training, and that council member is going to appoint a guardian to protect the new member. The appointing element was taken more seriously earlier, but today the new member makes the decision himself or herself, so the representative appointment is merely a formality.”

“So Stiles can chose whomever he wants for the job?”

“Yes, that is the idea.”

“So I could become that person?”

“Yes, Scott, technically you could become Stiles guardian, but no council member has ever chosen a skinwalker as a guardian before and the council most likely won’t take it too well. It will also involve brutal training and you would have to work harder than anybody before you have done, because if you fail or show weakness, it is going to reflect back on Stiles or it might get him killed.”

I don’t know what to say when Scott brings it up, because I never thought that he would want to do it. Not that I knew about the whole guardian business, but I am not sure I want to ask this of Scott. I mean if I choose him I am pretty much asking him to give up his life for me and he might be my best friend, but I don’t want him to die for me.

 

* * *

 

On the drive back, Derek is completely silent. I keep trying to spark up a conversation, but when the answers are only monosyllables, it isn’t very easy. From what he has told me I am guessing none of what Chris told us today was news to him, so I wish he would tell me what is bothering him.

“Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have been all silent and broody today, so I just want to know if I have done anything wrong or if you are having doubts about this whole thing, because I need you to talk to me. I know you don’t really believe in the whole talking thing, but my life is a mess and I am a mess and…”

“Stiles, I am fine. I am just worried about the people wanting to kill my boyfriend who I love. I love that you stand up for skinwalkers and you want to make sure they don’t murder any skinwalkers the way they murdered my family, but I am going to be worried about you getting murdered because it seems like their go to solution for everything.”

“Look at you rambling.”

“Stiles…”

“You are adorable.”

“Stiles!”

“I am serious; you rambling might be the most adorable thing since puppies.”

“I am not even going to comment on the puppy comparison.”

“So you picked up on that?”

The death glare says it all, but it doesn’t take long before he laughs alongside me and I can’t help feeling like everything is going to all right as long as I get to have this.


	3. What Used to Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I know I have been terrible with posting, but my exam is Monday and this is pretty much just me delaying having to do anymore reading, because my motivation is pretty much zero at the moment. That said I am actually happy with this chapter, even though there isn't that much plot or Sterek, because there are some Scott and Stiles scenes that needed to happen before the plot moves forward or it won't make sense. 
> 
> I hope you will continue to post comments and leave kudos, because honestly, they make my day and let me know if you need me to add any tags or warnings.
> 
> Enjoy you lovely lovely people <3  
> Stay safe :D

Derek drops me off at my grandparents’ diner, where my dad is waiting for me. My dad halfheartedly tries to convince Derek to stay for dinner, probably to show his support for our relationship, but Derek declines saying he better check up on Isaac.

Despite the horrible excuse, I don’t really mind. I haven’t seen my grandparents in what feels like ages with everything going on and we haven’t had dinner her since before I found out about my heritage. Everything has been so chaotic that it has slipped my mind.

“Stiles! John! It’s so good to see you!”

My grandma is pretty much crushing me the moment we step through the door, but her smile is worth the pain. She has this almost relieved expression on her face, I am not sure I understand. At this point, my dad and I have the most to apologize for not the other way around, since we have been distant for two or three months.

“Hi grandma, how are you doing?”

“I am much better now that my two boys are here. Sit down, I will be down to take your order in a few minutes. Your grandpa is going to be so happy to see you!”

The next second, she hurries off and I move towards our usual table. It takes a few second for me to realize that my dad is still standing by the door looking almost angry. Seeing him glancing towards the kitchen, I have a bad feeling in my stomach because this won’t end well.

“Dad, aren’t you coming?”

“Just sit down; I need to talk to grandma and grandpa first.”

“You shouldn’t hold it against them, you know.”

My dad looks utterly shocked at me and the bad feeling turns to dread, because I was really hoping my dad wasn’t going to hold this against my grandparents.

“What?”

“You shouldn’t hold it against them that they knew why Claudia was leaving.”

“When did you find out?”

“When I found out about my heritage. I know Claudia tried to protect us and she might have gone about it the completely wrong way, but grandpa and grandma shouldn’t be the ones to tell you that your wife left to protect us. Besides, you probably wouldn’t have handled it very well at the time considering how you were acting in the first place and how distant you have been with all of us until a few months ago. They haven’t really had much of a chance to tell you.”

Hearing my dad sigh and rub his eyes in his frustrated way, I know this isn’t going to be an easy argument to win. He has probably been holding this in for weeks building up angry and resentment for being out of the loop about something so personal.

“Stiles, I am a grown man and my parents shouldn’t have made the decision to keep this kind of information from me. If I had known your mother didn’t just vanish, maybe I would have handled the whole thing better.”

“Well, it isn’t grandma and grandpa’s fault that she left and you shouldn’t be playing the blame game just because she has decided to come back!”

“It’s is alright, Stiles. Your father has every right to be angry with us.”

My grandpa is standing by the counter watching us. The sad expression makes him look so much older or maybe I just haven’t realized how much they have aged over the last couple of years.

“We knew we should have said something years ago, but Claudia made us promise not to tell anybody and the poor girl seemed scared out of her mind. We thought maybe someone would hurt both of you and we know you, John. We knew you wouldn’t have sat around at home waiting for Claudia to return if you had found out and we didn’t want to risk Stiles’ safety.”

“And a real mother would never just leave the way she did no matter how much danger she is in, so if she couldn’t be with you, she doesn’t deserve to be.”

“This conversation isn’t over, but I don’t want to do this in front of my son.”

“That might be the first parental thing I have heard you say in years, John.”

My grandpa’s comment clearly hits home with my dad, because the guilt he has, felt since he found out what I have gone through, it clearly hasn’t gone anywhere. I wish Claudia’s action didn’t have to affect my family this way, because neither of them are to blame.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, my dad leaves for his night shift and Scott picks me up on his way home from work. Well, technically it isn’t really work as much as an excuse for extra practice at Deaton’s clinic. I am sure he does some work related stuff, but Deaton has mentioned how focused Scott has become lately.

Sitting on my bed playing video games with Scott feels so out of the ordinary. Our relationship has gotten so much better over the past few months, but the residual weirdness is still there. Scott still overreacts to everything I do trying to please and seeing my best friend in the hospital fighting for his life has affected me more than I want to admit.

“You know, it feels like my entire life has become skinwalkers and council seats lately. It feels nice to do something just the two of us.”

“I know what you mean…”

“Are you alright, dude? You seem… distant…”

Scott puts down the controller and faces me. His expression is so serious, my best friends seems like a completely different person. Then again, I am not the only one who has had my life changed forever the last few months. Finding out you are a skinwalker and your girlfriend’s family hunts said skinwalkers can’t have been easy either.

“Stiles, would you want me to be your guardian, because I want to do it.”

“Why? Scott, where does this need to protect me come from, is it because you are feeling guilty?”

“Sure, part of it might be guilt, but you are my best friend… I have tried to look at other options, but I don’t like some random person being assigned to protect you considering that some people on the council wants to kill you and Derek can’t do it considering you want to jump each other’s bones, which is a distraction and whoever protects you can’t be distracted. Besides, I think I might be good at it. I am a straight-A student and my skinwalker abilities have only increased all his athletic abilities, so I am not sure you could get a better candidate.”

“I agree…”

“Stiles, I know protest… wait, what? You agree?”

Scott’s expression is hilarious. His jaw literally drops and his eyes becomes huge, but I have never seen him look this happy about anything before. He actually seems genuinely happy about the whole thing, no matter how little sense it makes to me.

“Scott, you are the obvious choice, but you need to understand that this is very likely to get you killed. I mean I am not sure I am going to make it out of this alive and I doubt Allison’s family is going to be thrilled about the whole thing no matter how supportive Chris is of me.”

“I need to do this, I can’t really explain it, but ever since they explained the whole guardian aspect of your council seat thing… it felt like something I had to do, like I was meant to do it.”

“Why don’t you think about it a couple of days? We don’t have to decide anything right now and I want you to be sure… maybe talk to Allison about it?”

“Like you talk to Derek about all of this?”

“He has actually been great about the whole thing, making sure I am alright.”

There is no doubt that I am full on blushing when Scott brings up Derek. It feels strange talking to Scott about these things, no matter how often he brings up Allison, maybe because I never really thought I was going to have somebody to talk about like this.

“Is Derek going to take you out on an actual date anytime soon?”

“I don’t know, everything has been crazy lately, so we haven’t really talked about it.”

“But things are really good between you?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“I want to be a better friend, because you are the best person I know and if that includes listening to you talk about Derek then I am going to listen to you talk about Derek.”

“Uncomfortable details an all?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind if you left those out…”

We are laughing hard, so it takes us minutes before we can go back to playing video games. The whole scenario is a bit bizarre to me considering this is what I dreamed our friendship could be like before. I have always know Scott is a great person, no matter how he behaved so having him stand by me this way and be willing to protect me this way… it means everything.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, the doorbell rings and I considers my dad having forgotten his key or something, but I am sure he locked up when we left, so it can’t be him. Then who would stop by at this hour? I am sure Derek would just sneak in through my window, he still hasn’t gotten used to the whole front door thing since my dad accepted our relationship.

When the door opens, Claudia stands on the other side. She might be the last person I expected to see and I am relieved my dad is working, because I don’t want him to interact with her too much. He always looks so sad whenever someone brings her up; especially when he thinks, I am not looking.

“Claudia…”

“Stiles, can we talk?”

“Sure, what do you need to talk to me about?”

She walks past me into the living room and looks uncomfortably around as if she is remembering all her memories from living here. I guess my dad isn’t the only one affected by the whole thing.

“We need to talk about you accepting the seat on the council.”

“I am not really sure how much there is to talk about. I have already decided to accept the seat; Chris has started training me…”

“I don’t want you to accept the seat!”

“What?”

She appears to be fighting herself and I can’t help but feel that she is keeping something from me. Ever since she found out about the seat, she has kept trying repeatedly to talk me out of accepting without really saying why.

“Stiles, I don’t want you risking your lift…”

“I can’t believe you would be this selfish…”

“Stiles…”

“But then again, when have you not been selfish?”

Claudia actually looks like I just slapped her and I know it is a low blow, but I am tired of holding back around her. She clearly doesn’t understand just how much pain she has caused us by leaving, especially my dad who she claims she loved.

“I thought we were trying to make things work between us…”

“We are, but I am not going to pretend that I have forgiven you for abandoning us. Yes, I have agreed to have you around, but I am not going to let you think you can control my life. I am sick and tired of everyone thinking they have a say in my decisions.”

“Stiles, you have to understand that the council…”

“The council is going to try and kill me no matter what I do and refuse to run and hide. I am not going to let them ruin lives by standing by and letting psychopathic hunters like Gerard murder skinwalkers the way they did with Derek’s family. I have a responsibility and I am not going to spend my life running from it the way you have.”

Her body language becomes smaller and smaller every second and I probably shouldn’t treat her this way, but I am sick and tired of treating her with kid gloves.

“Has your life really been so bad that you wish you were dragged into this mess sooner?”

“Has my life been that bad? Do you even understand what you put us through all those years? Dad… he didn’t understand why the love of his life up and left in the middle of the night without a word, so he started drinking. At first, it was just a glass of scotch after work, but soon it got so bad that I had to skip school to take care of him and make excuses so he didn’t lose his job, because I knew that would be the end of him. I had to lie to grandpa and grandma because I knew he was depressed and probably suicidal… I was terrified that I would come home one day, and he would be gone too and I was terrified, someone would take me away from him. Eventually grandma and grandpa found out though… I have never been so scared in my life, I thought I was going to lose him completely, but I guess some things got better after that. I mean, the drinking stop, but we started ignoring each other barely even seeing each other around the house, never talking except for the usual polite small talk, because he couldn’t face what he put me through all those months… I have been so damn lonely… I have been so lost… I am not even sure how I can explain so you can understand what all those years was like, because I haven’t had a family since the day you left until this whole skinwalker thing started… Do you have any idea how hard it is to be the adult in your own life when you barely tall enough to reach half the fridge? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep appearance because you have nobody but you don’t want to answer the questions? I honestly _hate you_ for what you put dad and me through all those years… I hate that you are putting him through it all over again by coming back here…”

Her skin becomes paler and paler as I speak and I can feel my own voice breaking several times during the monologue because it hasn’t gotten easier to talk about. I thought talking to Ms. Morrell had made it better, but the emotions are still there and whenever she is around it feels like they are taking over my body leaving me feeling like one big gaping wound.

“I don’t know what to say…”

“There isn’t much to say.”

“I guess I should leave.”

She looks so incredibly lost when she walks thought the door almost forgetting to close it behind her and a part of me wants to hug her and tell her I didn’t mean it, but I know I have to stand strong. It does help that I might even have seen a tear running down the cheek of the woman who never cries.

“Stiles, are you alright?”

I turn around and see Scott standing at the bottom of the stairs looking like a scared little kid. Screaming at my mother, I forgot about Scott being upstairs. He must have heard the whole thing and I know he knows the broad strokes, but hearing me scream it at her clearly made an impact.

“I guess I can’t pretend that it is all good, can I?”

“Was it really that bad?”

“It hasn’t been that bad in a whole.”

“But how could you hide it? I was your best friend and I had no idea what was going on and I felt bad before when you told us, but this… he don’t know what to do. I hate knowing I wasn’t there for you when I should have been…”

“Scott, you were a _kid_. You might be my best friend, but I have always been good at hiding things I don’t want the rest of the world to know and you were there for me more than you think. All those videogame nights and movie nights were you put up with my ranting and my general weirdness… it took my mind of everything that was going.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Derek might have been helping with the distracting lately, but nothing beats having my best friend around with helping me forget about everything horrible going on.”

Scott drags me into a hug and I can’t help smiling. Even after everything with Claudia, having Scott around reminds me, that family is more than the people who share the same blood as you. Scott is my brother no matter what our DNA says. 


	4. Facing An Unknown Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished this chapter last Sunday, but I decided to wait to post it after my exam Monday, which then didn't happen. To make a long story short, I have been busy the last week, which is why I am only posting this now. I hope you like it - it is Stiles' first encounter with the Council and I am exicted to see what you all think :)
> 
> Please keep commenting and leaving kudos, it makes my day everytime :)  
> Tell me if i need to post any warnings or add any tags  
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people <3

The next week is one of the hardest of my life. Chris tries to cram everything there is to know about hunter etiquette in my brain and I am still not completely sure I know how to greet them probably when he has started on the whole argumentation thing… At this point, I am terrified I am going to cause some sort of international incident that is going to get us all killed.

It doesn’t help that Scott has accepted the whole being my guardian thing, which means he would be the one defending me during said incident, meaning I could get my best friend killed by opening my mouth and I have never been very good at staying quiet. I mean I know he seemed serious during bro night, but he has taken training to a whole other level the last week, even Chris freaking Argent has seemed impressed with his commitment, which is great considering the whole Allison thing.

Then as if everything else wasn’t enough, there are the not so subtle hints Claudia keeps throwing at me about not accepting my seat on the council and my dad resenting my grandparents without even bothering to hide it. I know they sort of agree with him, but I am never going to understand how he is going to hold it against them that Claudia decided to make a messed up decision.

Well, it has all culminated with me sitting in a car driving in the middle of nowhere, where I am honestly not sure anybody could build anything let alone some secret council meeting space. The destination is my first official council meeting where I will find out exactly how many people want me six feet under and how many might actually grow to like me.

I am also supposed to meet my representative or supervisor or whatever today and all I can think about is the ways said person could make my life a living hell. This is the person, who is supposed to help me through the emotional mind field of whatever this is.

Chris suddenly parks the car and I keep looking around expecting to see, well, something, but I literally can’t see anything but trees. This is where we are meeting? I am not sure what I expected, but it sure wasn’t something this… primitive.

“This is it?”

“The bunker is hidden further down, but we can’t drive there. From here on out, everything counts. Scott, you are going to be Stiles’ guardian, which means everything you do reflects on him, so you can’t afford to make a wrong move. Stiles, Derek and I will stay in the background while Scott stays with you. As I explained before they are probably going to try and intimidate you, but you have to keep up a strong front or they are going to attack.”

Chris’ speech sounds more like a general sending his troops out in battle than a council meeting, but then again, I am not sure how much this differs from a war.

 

* * *

 

Further down, three men materializes out of nowhere. It takes me a second to recognize them as the three members who crashed my birthday party. Two of them has Chris’ stoic expression down to an art, while the last one gives me a small smile. He is the easiest to recognize, since he is the one who stayed behind and warned me of the up and coming doom.

“Hello, Mr. Aleksy…”

“Stilinski… My name is Stiles Stilinski, I might me an Aleksy by blood, but it isn’t my name.”

“I am sorry, Mr. Stilinski, my name is Jamie Campbell. I am going to be your supervisor.”

Studying him, I am not sure how I feel about this, but I guess he did have the decency to warn me about the catastrophe that is becoming myself, so it could be worse, especially considering the way the other two are studying me with something resembling disgust.

“Who have you brought with you?”

“This is Chris Argent; I am guessing you are familiar with him seeing as he is a hunter and everything, the tall brooding one is my boyfriend Derek Hale and this is my Guardian, Scott McCall.”

“I am glad you have people looking out for your interest, Chris is a good man and I think Scott is a good choice for a Guardian.”

“You do realize he is a skinwalker, right?”

“Do you care that he is a skinwalker?”

“No, he is my best friend…”

“Which means he will do anything to protect you, what more could you want in a Guardian?

At this point, I am still not sure I can trust Jamie, but I like him. Anybody who can recognize the potential Scott holds and doesn’t confuse Chris with his father gains points in my book. His last name doesn’t bode well though, from what Chris has told his family is one of the most anti skinwalker in the entire council, which is very confusing considering how kind and welcoming he just seemed. Either he is a very good actor or he and Chris have more things in common than their occupation.

“During the meeting, I will be representing my own family, so I won’t be sitting next to you, but you are allowed to have your companions with you. Usually, you are only allowed one, but since it is your first meeting all three are allowed this once. Afterwards, we will talk more about my obligations to you as your supervisor and how we are going to handle the situation.”

“Are there anything on the agenda I should know about?”

“No, today’s meeting has only been scheduled to accept you into the council. We don’t have any official council matter on the agenda for today, so you should be safe for now.”

He says the last comment with my kind of light sarcasm that makes me smile. I really want Jamie to be one of the good guys, because I can’t stand the thought of someone being this good at pretending.

 

* * *

 

The bunker is better hidden than expected and far larger. It feels like one of those creepy ancient European castles, expect it has no windows and everybody is looking down at their cellphones. I am not sure what I expected, but this sure wasn’t it.

Once we are in the Council room, I sit down in the chair Jamie shows me and Chris, Derek and Scott sit behind me. The other Council members slowly start to arrive one after one, while Derek and Chris explain the different positions of the different families. It honestly makes my head hurt.

“As I have explained to you, the council consists of eleven families. Today, ten families are going to present, which changes the whole dynamic of the council. Historically, only five of the families have been positive towards skinwalkers, where six families have been negative towards them, but things are changing. The Argent family has become an unknown since they don’t know who is going to succeed my father on the council, meaning they are now five families pro skinwalkers and five families against skinwalkers, creating a tie. This means tensions are going to be high; everybody is going to try to create advantages for their own side and get a feel for the others members. Most members have never encountered an Aleksy, which means they don’t know how much of your power is real and how is legend. This is an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time.”

“Chris is right; both the anti-skinwalker and the pro-skinwalker families are going to wary of you for different reasons. The anti-skinwalkers don’t know how much of a power factor you are going to be and pro-skinwalkers don’t know how much faith they can put in you or if you are anything like your namesakes of the past. You are an unknown.”

“Your family has traditionally been very tightly linked to the Yukimura and Calavera families due to their very strong belief of the code. To them skinwalkers can be bad the same way every other human being can, so they only ever hurt those who hurt innocents. The Umzingeli and Garcia families are traditionally positive too, they have always said they have faced too much discrimination to discriminate any other humans. The anti-skinwalkers, well…”

“The Ness, Deveraux, Jäger and Wolf families are traditionally very anti-skinwalker meaning they will use any excuse to murder skinwalkers, saying they would do the same if given the chance. They believe skinwalkers are animals who can’t control their impulses. The Argents and Campbell’s have historically been the most violent families, killing more skinwalkers than any other of the families partly due to their anti-skinwalker attitude and partly due to them being the first hunter families.”

“I still think it is funny that a family named after a wolf isn’t more positive towards the people who can turn into them.”

“Stiles! You need to take this seriously!”

“I am! I just don’t understand how they can believe killing people is the answer to anything.”

After knowing me for almost four months, Chris should know my reaction to anything seemingly scary is going to be a smartass comment to defuse the tension. I am eighteen years old sitting in a room with an unknown number of people who want to kill me in the middle of nowhere with my skinwalker best friend, my skinwalker boyfriend and my hunter mentor whose father has tried to kill all skinwalkers by using some ancient ritual. Life doesn’t get much more complicated than that.

“So how does this whole suspension thing work? Are you going to become a council member once the suspension is over or what?”

“Our seat was suspended for another three months and when the suspension is over I am going to have to fight for the seat. I have a cousin in France who wants to further the old values, but he is honestly just as crazy as Gerard, so I can’ risk someone like him gaining power.”

“Are you going to be alright?”

“I will be fine. Hell, with your support, I could probably scare my cousin into forfeiting before the fighting even really begins.”

Chris’ small laugh makes it obvious that he is joking no matter how much what he is saying is true. From the reactions, my family name means more in this world than I can probably phantom and Chris has done more than enough for me to make it clear that he doesn’t share his father’s opinion.

“You have whatever support you need. You have more than earned it…”

“Stiles, after everything my family has done, I can’t believe… my father…”

“I am not going to hold anybody accountable for their family’s action. I mean, I am not going to blame Derek for what Peter has done any more than I would blame you for Gerard’s actions. If I can help you, I will do it. You have gone above and beyond with my training Chris, sure you have enjoyed knocking me on my ass more than once, but you are a very important reason why I am still alive.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Suddenly, the entire room goes quiet and I see an elderly man has entered. Chris makes a small sign indicating that this is Archibald Jäger, the oldest current Council member and one of the most feared men in the hunter world. The stories say he strikes out at everybody at the slightest provocation even other hunters and no one walks away unharmed.

“We are here to introduce Genim Aleksy, the Aleksy heir, as a new member of the Council of Hunters. He will swear to protect and uphold the code to protect the balance between humanity and skinwalkers as council members have done before him for centuries. To guide him in this transition, we have appointed Council member Jamie Campbell to be his Supervisor.”

They keep talking about nothing, but the only thing I can think about during the whole thing is how they are going to call me Genim from now on. I have always hated that name and the only people who uses it are Ms. Davis and Derek on occasion. Sure, my dad has used it whenever he was furious with me for doing something inherently stupid, but he never really found out when I was in trouble since I learned to fake his signature before I graduated middle school.

“The meeting is adjourned!”

Then Archibald just stands up and walks out without saying another word. It is as if the entire room has been holding their breath until he steps outside the room and the relief is palpable. The only person who doesn’t seem scared of the Jäger patriarch is Noshiko Yukimura. There is respect there on both sides, but the Yukimura matriarch has never looked affected by his presence.

“The Calavera and Garcia representatives didn’t seem too pleased with Jamie being appointed as my supervisor. Do you think the anti-skinwalker families are going to use him against me?”

“It could be, but I have never felt any kind of ill will against you from him, so either he is a very good actor or he is far better at playing this political game than I expected.”

Chris practically grabs my arm and firmly guides me towards one of the doors behind me. I am not sure what is going on, but when the door closes behind us, I see Claudia standing on the other side of the room looking anxious.

“Claudia, I told you to stay in Beacon Hills…”

“Chris, I couldn’t just…”

“Yes, you could! We have everything under control…”

“They are appointed a Campbell as my son’s supervisor, Chris! A Campbell!”

It is strange seeing this expression on Chris’ face directed at someone else. Usually it only appears whenever I have made a particularly stupid decision during practice, but it has been a while since I have seen it. Well, expect for whenever Chris tries to quiz me in hunter etiquette, but I am not sure anybody can stay awake during five hours of anything that boring.

“If you had bothered to actually do your research, you would know Jamie Campbell is nothing like his family. The Campbell’s are known for being on opposite sites for your family, but Jamie is very much pro-skinwalker. I have known the kid all my life and I don’t think I have seen anybody play the political game this well. The kid is smart and he is a hell of a fighter, I doubt Stiles could have gotten a better Supervisor than Jamie.”

“That’s why you dragged me out of there; you didn’t want to risk anybody overhearing anything.”

“Well, at least one of you can put two and two together. The Calavera and Garcia families know they would risk Jamie’s position if they didn’t have some reaction to his appointment.”

I never thought I would see Claudia looking like a scolded child, but that might be the most accurate description of her expression, at the moment. Everything makes sense when Chris explains it and Jamie’s kindness towards Scott suddenly makes me want to hug the man. It must have been an attempt at showing me he is on our side when the other two hunters were present.

“Now, what do think about the meeting, Stiles?”

“Well, Archibald Jäger is the dominating figure of the meeting, he clearly didn’t like being summoned for some formality, but everybody is terrified of him. Well, except for Noshiko Yukimura. I am not sure I understand it, but they have this weird respect. Bruno Calavera and Fernando Garcia seemed against Jamie being my supervisor, but that seems to be according to the plan. Challa Umzingeli seemed neutral somehow, he didn’t seem for or against anything really, which I am guessing is his strategy, because nobody is going to know his position, which gives him an advantage.

Killian Ness, Catherine Deveraux and Freya Wolf just generally seemed pissed to see me, which I am guessing has more to do with what my family resents, since they don’t have any negative history with the Aleksy’ or me. Jamie seemed cocky, which I am guessing is part of his plan seeing as any young hunter could be honored to be appointed supervisor. Considering everything, I think we are lucky they appointed him my supervisor, because anything else could have been catastrophic.”

“I agree with you. We are lucky concerning Jamie; he might actually be an asset to us in this. Now, Jamie is going to contact you and set up a meeting time for your first session. He is going to help train Scott and guide you on different aspects of Council member life. You will be attending meetings regularly where we will try and asses the current threats on the council.”

“Meaning my life is going to all meetings.”

Looking around, I notice Scott looking confused and I make a mental note to talk to him before the first session with Jamie. Looking back on the whole thing, we probably should have included Scott more in the preparation than we did.

“We should keep our minds open and look outside the council too. Some of the smaller families might want to take over the Aleksy seat by ‘earning it’.”

“Should we really discuss who is trying to kill me before we actually have any proof other than speculation and guesses, because I would prefer not thinking that everybody I meet is someone who might try and kill me?”

“Stiles, I know it sucks, but you need to get used to it fast if you want to survive the next couple of months. The threat is real and it is just waiting to be poked.”

 

* * *

 

On the drive back, Chris and Scott end up driving back with Claudia, but Chris’ words stick with me. The threat is real and, over the next couple of months, I am going to be faced with an imminent threat to my life. There are very real people out there who want to kill me because of something I can’t control: my heritage. They want to kill because I can’t sit by and watch them murder innocent people for something they can control even less.

Looking over at Derek, I realize how lucky I am. Derek could have bailed on all of this at any point during the disaster that has been my life since we have known each other. I mean I am an eighteen year old kid who has found out he has something resembling magical powers. Sure, we have both made mistakes along the way, but looking at him, I know we are both going to fight for it.

“So are we ever going to have that date we have been talking about forever or are you going to leave a guy hanging?”

“Do you want to do it?”

“It is just that simple to you?”

“Sure, you want to go out with me and I want to go out with you – I am assuming the next step is actually going on a date with each other.”

“You are seriously taking me out to a dinner and a movie?”

Teasing him never gets old and I can barely stop laughing when he does his resting bitch face. Seriously, he looks like he is going to strangle me any second and considering everything I probably should be more scared, but I can’t help it. Eventually, he starts laughing too and it takes forever for any of us to stop. It feels great, though. Laughing.

“Stiles; do you want this date or not?”

“Yes, of course I do.”

“Then no complaining. When do you want to do it? Training has been brutal lately.”

“I guess… Saturday, maybe? Chris always goes easier on me during the weekend.”

“Sounds good, I will make the arrangement.”

Then he kisses me and I know I should focus on the fact that he driving a car while doing it, but I really don’t care. I never thought I was going to have this and I sure as hell never thought I was going to have it with a brilliant, incredibly kind person who looks like something out of a movie. He is literally everything I would describe as too good to be true and he actually loves me.

“Do you remember the double date we had with Scott and Allison?”

“Oh god, I was so nervous before hand I think I changed clothes like fifty times and then there was the worrying about how you would react to be on a double date with three seventeen year olds, because let’s face it me and Scott together don’t exactly inspire maturity.”

“Me too.”

That gets my attention, because what? I look over and he actually looks dead serious, but I can’t wrap my mind around it. Derek freaking Hale was actually nervous about our date!

“You were actually nervous?”

“Sure, I liked you, Stiles. I wanted to give you a proper date experience because I feel like life has taken so much from you with everything that has happened. You have never really gotten to be a kid and you have had people trying to kill you ever since we met… You are probably never going to have an ordinary life and I know how much you actually want those things small things no matter how much you say you don’t. So yeah, I wanted that night to be perfect for you and for your friends to like me. It might have ended catastrophically, but I am hoping this one will be better.”

“I have never been that scared in my life, I seriously thought I was going to lose him…”

I can still see him lying there and knowing that there was a very real possibility that the disease was going to take him away from me. I was scared Derek was going to get sick and I was going to lose him too, I was scared of the faith everybody seemed to have in me at the time, because I had no idea how I was going to fix anything. I still don’t.

“How do you feel about Scott wanting to be your guardian?”

“I don’t know. You know I am thrilled that I have my best friend back, but I am terrified that he is only doing it out of guilt and at the same time, I can’t imagine anybody else doing it at this point.”

“You know I am going to help him as much as I can…”

“But that is part of the problem. I am terrified I am going to get Scott killed, but it is not just Scott. I know every one of you would jump in head first without a second thought and I could lose you… I am not sure how I could live with that.”

“Your friends love you, I love you…”

“And I love you, but that just makes losing you so much harder.”

Looking forward, facing this unknown evil this is what scares me the most. Losing my own life scares me so much less than losing any of my friends and the thought of having them take a metaphorical or literal bullet for me, scares the living shit out me. I don’t want anybody else to die.

“I don’t want anybody to die for me…”


	5. Regaining Normalcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry i am a week late posting, but I have this research project I might get to do, but it involves a ton of reading, so that has taken over my life at the moment. I hope the chapter makes up for it, though. There isn't really that much plot, but it is Derek and Stiles' first solo date, so I am hoping you will love it as much as I loved writing it. There is even a nice Stiles and John moment in the end, so fingers crossed.  
> A second thing is that A Question of Trust hit 10k hits, which I am thrilled and excited about! It was the first work I posted on here and it has been two years now and I am posting the third part in the serious, and the series is about 175k words at the moment, which is crazy :D Thank you to everybody who has commented and leaven stories on here <3
> 
> Please keep leaving comments and kudos, they make my day <3  
> Tell me if I need to add tags or warnings  
> Stay safe you lovely people

Today is the day. My entire body feels like it is fluttering right alongside my heart, my palms are sweating and my breathing has increased. It reminds me of a panic attack, but the fluttering is the good kind. Tonight is the night of our first date.

Derek is picking me up in a few minutes and in the meantime, I get to watch my parents freaking out about their son going on a date. For some reason, my father decided to share with Claudia about my date, so she decided to take over the entire parental disapproving thing. It unnerves me to no end, because she doesn’t even know Derek or me!

My dad actually seems excited for me, though. The age difference might bother him, but he can see that Derek is good for me. He makes me happier than I have been in what feels like forever and nights like tonight bring back a sense of normalcy I haven’t had since all of this began.

“When did you say, he was picking you up?”

“In a few minutes…”

As if he knew I was about to tear into Claudia, the doorbell rings distracting me from my annoying parental unit. Opening the door, reveals Derek looking incredible and he is actually holding the biggest bouquet of flowers I have seen in my life.

“Hi, are you ready to go?”

“Hi, I am, but you do realize I am not a girl right?”

“You don’t like the flowers?”

“I love the flowers, but you didn’t have to.”

The kiss is chaste, but it makes me forget everything around me. In my eighteen years of life, I never thought I would be in anything as corny romantic comedy as this moment, I mean we even have the overly protective parental unit who owns several guns standing behind us.

“Now, Derek, when are you bringing Stiles home?”

“Dad, we haven’t even left yet!”

“I think we will be done around 11pm, so I will try and have him home before midnight, sir.”

“Are you going to be driving on this date of yours?”

“Yes…”

“And you see yourself as a safe driver?”

“Claudia, he drove us to the damn council meeting a few days ago!”

“You better not consider drinking and driving, Derek. If you as much as consider drinking I will have my deputies end this date…”

“DAD! Will you two please stop trying to intimidate my boyfriend already?”

I want to punch my parents for trying to pull this on Derek. Come on! My dad has meet him several times and he knows he would never put me in any danger, besides skinwalkers can’t get drunk to save their lives because of the whole increased metabolism thing they have got going on.  

“Stiles, it is fine. They are worried about you. Sir, I love your son, he is an extraordinary human being and he is the smartest person I have ever met. I am completely aware that this relationship isn’t ordinary and that the age difference is making you uncomfortable, but we are taking things slow and I will never do anything Stiles isn’t ready no matter how much Stiles might think he wants it. So will you please trust him? Will you please trust me?”

Derek’s monologue makes me want to kiss him senseless and punch him for oversharing, but I know it would probably leave his entire argument invalid. My dad seems to have gotten the message, but Claudia looks like she wants to close the door in his face. I can’t understand why, but she seems incredibly uncomfortable around Derek for some reason.

“Well, after my boyfriend has been so wonderful to overshare, I think we will get going. I will see you later, please don’t wait up.”

Dragging Derek forcibly towards his car turns out to be harder than expected, but he looks a little too amused when we actually reach the damn car. Opening the door and kissing me does make things a little bit better, even if it makes me feel like the girl all over again.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere special.”

 

* * *

 

Our destination turns out to be a small restoration I have never heard of just outside town. From the outside, it looks like one of those family driven places that makes you feel like you are at home and the inside does not disappoint. Derek looks familiar with the place though, leaving me to wonder what it is about this place that makes it so special to him.

“Derek! It is so good to see you, bambino!”

An elderly woman comes running and starts kissing Derek cheeks, before turning to me. I am not sure if I should start running because it feels like an evaluation, I am not sure I am going to pass.

“Now, who is this young man? Someone special?”

“This is Stiles; he is my boyfriend, nonna.”

“You did good, bambino. He seems like a good one.”

Then she hurries off again and Derek leads us to a small table. Since the menus have disappear from our table, I am guessing Derek already ordered. It does makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, but my growling stomach is pleased that food will be here sooner than expected.

“I am guessing you have been here before?”

“This is actually where my mom worked when she met my dad and my mom was pretty much raised by Eleanora hence me calling her nonna.”

“Was it love at first sight? Between your parents I mean.”

“It really wasn’t. They both instinctually knew the other one was a skinwalker and it instantly put them on edge around each other, because there isn’t as many of us as people think. My dad thought my mom was intriguing, so he kept coming back to this place every day for lunch and my mom eventually started timing her lunch, so they could eat together. Eventually, they fell in love and became my parents, but it wasn’t love at first sight.”

“It is a great story.”

Hearing Derek talk about his parents makes me realize it is the first time. He has mentioned them in a side note, but never like this. It also makes me realize yet again how little I actually know about Derek’s life or about him in general, but I am hoping it is going to change.

“Your parents story, it reminds me a little of us actually. Except we bonded over the whole someone is trying to kill slash control the skinwalkers ordeal.”

“I actually like to think that we have our own story.”

Then he kisses me and everything feels like it is floating. His kisses always makes me feel like a lovesick fool, but whenever I look into his eyes afterwards, his eyes always remind me that I am not the only lovesick fool in our relationship.

 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, our food arrives and my mouth literally water because it looks _so good_. Derek has ordered several different small dishes and I realize the advantage of dating the owner’s honorary grandson, because I am pretty sure this isn’t ordinarily on the menu.

“You have mentioned Laura and Peter, but you had a pretty large family before the…”

“It is fine, Stiles, you can mention the massacre. Yeah, we were a large family and we all lived together out in the preserve. My mom and dad both wanted a large family, so we were five siblings including Laura and I. Besides Laura, I had an older brother named Michael and two younger siblings, Cora and Damian. My parents absolutely adored Laura, even when she was having her teenage meltdowns and skipping school, which used to frustrate me to no end, because whenever Michael or I did any of those things they scolded us to no end. Cora and Damian were the babies of the pack, they constantly got into trouble playing pranks on everybody, but they were three and five years younger than me, so we never became as close as Michael, Laura and I. Michael was my best friend…”

“Derek, you don’t have to…”

“No, I want to tell you. Michael was my best friend; we were only a year apart, so we pretty much grew up as twins even if we couldn’t have looked more different. Michael inherited my father’s blond hair and blue eyes, while I got my mother’s black hair and brown eyes… we used to joke that he was the family angel, but he really was the kindest person. Peter adored Michael, because they both loved painting. I know it can be hard to imagine having met Peter, but before the massacre he used to paint these incredible portraits and he would spend hours listening to us complain about how unfair our parents were being, when they wouldn’t let us do something completely idiotic and reckless… He used to help Damian and Cora with their pranks, because he loved making people laugh and it just hurts to see how screwed up… The massacre changed everything.

I remember being out with Laura. Mom actually asked Michael and Laura to go, but Michael wanted to finish a drawing for Cora’s birthday, so I went instead and… I am never going to be able to forget the pain when we felt them disappearing and we were so terrified. We thought the council might help, but when we got the verdict, we ran and never looked back. We lived in New York for years doing odd jobs and trying to make something of ourselves. Eventually, I got into college and Laura said she would figure it out, but I know she worked herself half to death trying to do right by me and I was too scared to bring it up. But we managed to scrape by.

Everything changed though, when I came back here and met you. Since I lost my family I have felt like a broken shell, but these past few months with you have made me feel alive again. You need to know that I am serious about this; about us.”

“I know, because you are serious about everything you do. You never do anything halfway and you make me feel safe. I wish you would hang out with me as a wolf more, though, because you are freaking adorable, but… I am serious about this too. I might be eighteen and people keep telling me that I don’t know what I want and how I am supposed to date and find the one, but I feel like I am done looking, because I have you.”

All the tension, Derek has built up disappears. Sometimes I forget he is only twenty-three because all the pain and guilt he carries make him look so much older, but right now, he looks so incredibly young and vulnerable that I can’t help but want to protect him. I want to hold him and just tell him to forget the world for now, because he deserves to be happy.

 

* * *

 

After the most mind-blowing dessert in the history of desserts, Derek takes me to see a movie. I keep badgering him about what he are going to see, but he refuses to let anything slip, because he wants it to be a surprise. When we arrive at the old movie theater, I literally feel my jaw dropping because Princess Bride is playing. I remember telling Derek that one of my only happy family memories growing up was watching this movie with my dad and Claudia.

“How did you do this?”

“The owner used to know my parents, so I asked him if he would mind helping me with a late showing of Princess Bride instead of whatever he had planned and he was happy to help. He told me nobody else really comes to the late shows anyway during the week, so we pretty much have the entire movie theater to ourselves tonight.”

“Are you for real?”

“I just want this to be the kind of date you deserve.”

I know I should just be happy and accept that I have the best freaking boyfriend the world, but something about the whole thing makes me feel like Derek is overcompensating for something. Glancing over it is impossible to tell, but it doesn’t sit right with me.

“I hope tonight is everything you hoped.”

“It is more than I hoped, but I can’t help feeling that you are overcompensating?”

“I don’t know what I would be overcompensating for. I am doing this because you deserve to be treated like someone special, because you are everything to me.”

Despite Derek’s reassurances, I can’t shake the feeling completely that something is off. This is pretty much everything I dreamed a first date would be like. It is everything I could have imagined and better, because Derek actually knows me. We have been together for almost three months and for the first time, I think I am seeing how much Derek actually listens to what I say.

It makes me feel this blanket of happiness cover me and I can’t help kissing Derek. He looks at me a little questioning, but I just lean into him and watches the rest of the movie in the otherwise empty, dark movie theater wondering how I got this lucky.

 

* * *

 

The drive home ends up taking much longer than it is supposed to, because Derek purposely takes the long way to my house to prolong the date. When I realize it, I can’t stop laughing, because he isn’t even embarrassed about it. Derek just smiles and kisses my cheek, saying he always wants to spend as much time with me as he can.

Everything feels so surreal when he parks outside the house. Looking over at Derek, I realize how lucky I am that I have a twenty-three year old boyfriend who actually wants to give me this experience and wants to treat me right. Everything about tonight has been straight out of a movie and I can even see my dad waiting for me inside through the window.

“Is this what it feels like to be an ordinary teenager?”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess I haven’t felt eighteen in a while, and this has kind of been the perfect first date.”

“It hasn’t been too boring?”

“It was normal, and with my life at the moment, it was what I needed. Besides, nothing is boring when I am with you. You make everything feel new and exciting. God! I sound like a Hallmark movie, don’t I? One of the romantic ones you can guess the ending to after five minutes and you still don’t mind watching the whole thing, because it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. I have started full on rambling, haven’t I?”

“Yes, you are, but I don’t mind.”

We both know which part of this date comes next. This is the moment where Derek drops me off and kisses me goodbye and I am kind of looking forward to it. Kissing Derek could be my favorite new hobby, because my body always feels floaty and nice.

This time is no exception, the second Derek connects out lips, my blood starts pumping around my body and sure, it might be teenage hormones, but I love it. If it wasn’t completely socially unacceptable with my dad watching us through the window I am pretty sure I would be crawling into Derek’s lap at the moment, because this angle is killing my neck and I do not want this to stop.

When Derek eventually breaks the kiss, I feel dizzy. My eyes entire body feels like it is buzzing, especially my lips, but my eyes can’t focus. Everything feels out of focus except Derek and I don’t want to leave the car. I don’t want the date to end.

“Are you completely sure about the no sex thing, because I really wouldn’t bind the whole banning thing being lifted right about now?”

“That would your hormones speaking.”

“I am pretty sure this is me speaking; besides I am pretty sure any sane being would find you insanely attractive and I love you, so I couldn’t imagine anybody better.”

“I am still betting on the hormones.”

“So, no sex?”

“No sex.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I will drop by.”

Derek makes sure to keep the next kiss chaste and eventually I make my way out of his car and towards the front door, where I feel like a teenage girl at the end of those movie dates, where you want to do a little victory dance or something, because this is actually my life. I actually just had the best date I could think of with this insanely hot guy who I love, and who loves me back.

 

* * *

 

In the living room, my dad is pretending to sleep on the couch. He isn’t doing very well, considering I just saw him standing in the window watching Derek and me in the car. I actually feels a little bit weird considering he just saw me make out with my boyfriend in said boyfriend’s car.

“Dad, I saw you in the window…”

“I am just trying to look out for you, kid.”

“I know, but it is slightly creepy.”

We sit down at the kitchen table after my dad brings out the ice cream. We started doing this a few weeks ago for some reason, whenever we needed to talk late. I am not really sure why, but I am never going to complain about someone handing me ice cream.

“So how did the date go?”

“It was the best date I could have imagined. We ate at this little Italian place outside town, where his mother used to work and she met his dad, and then he took me to see Princess Bride in the old theatre… he really tried to make this special for me.”

“It sounds like it. Is it as serious as it seems between you two?”

“Is it crazy to think that Derek might be the one even if I am eighteen years old and I have only known Derek for under six months?”

My dad sends me this look that I am not really sure how to interpret, but he looks happy. Something tells me he knows something that I don’t and my curiosity is killing, but at the same time, I am not sure I want to know. I have this feeling it is one of those things I need to find out on my own.

“Only time will tell, but the heart wants what the heart wants, kiddo.”

“Now _you_ sound like a hallmark movie.”

“What do you mean?”

“I doesn’t matter; I think you should have been there.”

We both laugh and I don’t remember feeling this close to my dad ever. It is nice.


	6. Training Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I need to get better at this whole posting chapters regularly thing, because I was supposed to post this last week, but life happened and the posting didn't happen. Hopefully, I will be able to post more regularly from now on, but somehow I guessing life will get in the way again. I hope you like this chapter, because the whole plot thing starts moving forward again, and please tell me if I need to add more tags or warnings. 
> 
> Please leave comments or kudos, because I love hearing what you think <3  
> Please stay safe all you lovely, lovely people reading this <3

A few days later, my first training session with Jamie present comes along. The thought left everybody on edge for a couple of days; even Deaton seems more withdrawn and cryptic than usual, which is saying something. I am not sure how I feel about the whole thing either, but now he is standing in Deaton’s backyard in Chris’ homemade training course.

Almost as an opposite, Jamie appears completely at ease, which is somewhat impressive considering there are five people watching us. Deaton, Ms. Davis and Chris are responsible for my everyday training, so it makes sense that they are present, but neither Derek nor Scott would stay away no matter how much I begged them. They both have some notion that Jamie is going to murder me the first chance he gets no matter how little sense it actually makes.

It is not that I am completely comfortable around him either, but considering Jamie is this comfortable while trying to hold a conversation with Derek makes me think he might be one of the good guys. Well, he might be a great actor too, but I am leaning towards the first one.

“Now Jamie, what usually happens at these training sessions of yours?”

“Deaton, it honestly depends on who I am training. Considering Stiles is an Aleksy, I know very little about what his training usually entails, so I would be grateful if you would fill me in.”

“Usually, it is either Ms. Davis, Chris Argent or I, who are in charge of Mr. Stilinski’s training. Mr. Argent usually handles the physical aspects of getting our young Spark in shape, while Ms. Davis handles the historical aspects of both Hunter, Skinwalker and Aleksy history. I mainly trained Mr. Stilinski in terms of his Spark. Today, Ms. Davis was supposed to teach him about Council history.”

Jamie makes it hard to read him, because the happy exterior never wavers. The smile never really reaches his eyes and small twitches around his eyes lets me know he is listening, but I am not sure what he thinks about my training.

“Since I have no clue how to work this his Spark and Mr. Argent is more that qualified in terms of physical training, why don’t we stick to the plan for today? Next time, I will see how far Stiles have come in his martial arts training.”

“You don’t mind listening to an old lady’s ramblings?”

“I am honored to meet you, let only get to hear you talk about our history, Ms. Davis.”

Something about the way Jamie addresses Ms. Davis makes me think there is more to who she is then she has told me. He seems oddly at awe of her, which confuses me to no end. I mean I know she said she is a mage all those months ago, but I never really looked it up. It actually makes me feel a little bad that I didn’t care enough to look it up, because isn’t that what you are supposed to do when your friends tell you they are some sort of magical being.

“Genim, I can hear you thinking all the way from over here. Why don’t you come closer so we can get this started, I am sure the Sheriff would like to have his son home in time for dinner.”

“I am sorry, Ms. Davis.”

The whole situation feels like sitting around a campfire listening to horror stories and I am sure none of this will be the pretty version the council wants people to know, but I love Ms. Davis for always telling me the unconditional truth.

“Now, where do I start…? We have spoken about the origin of the Council and the importance of the Aleksy family, but we haven’t spoken about what happened afterwards. After they had agreed on forming the Council, they started making the Code, a set of rules future Hunters should follow. They fought over, _when_ they allowed Hunters to kill Skinwalkers, and they eventually agreed on ‘we hunt those who hunt us’ but some family’s never upheld the Code.

Especially the Argent, Jäger, and Campbell families have the bloodiest history, possibly because of their negative attitudes towards skinwalkers in general. They are the reason most skinwalker families hide their true nature and rarely shift today; they are also the reason why established packs and families rarely reach out to new skinwalkers, if they have attracted attention from Hunters.

Skinwalkers know some Hunters will use any excuse to slaughter innocent families as the Argents did in the Hales massacre. Most times the negative fraction of the Council have outweighed the positive, meaning the Council never punished the Hunters for their wrong doings. Even during times when the positive fraction had power, the negative fraction nurtured an underground ‘Hunter Club’, I think they called it. This Club would murder other prominent positive Hunters like the Aleksy family and powerful Skinwalkers who posed a threat to their existence. Like any other group of people, the Hunters kill what they fear and what they don’t understand.”

I have heard Ms. Davis talk about these things a million times, but today I am shocked when Jamie doesn’t protest at any of the accusations. Maybe he doesn’t see them as such, but hearing Ms. Davis mention his family name and having him take the subtle digs without even trying to do _something_ , I am feeling surer and surer he is one of the good ones.

 

* * *

 

The stories continue for another hour, but when Ms. Davis finishes Jamie thanks her for allowing him to sit in on her lecture, which still confuses me, because he pretty much just thanked her for letting him listen to her degrade his family.

Then he turns around and looks over at Scott and me. Scott instantly tenses up as if he is ready to fight any seconds, which oddly enough seems to please Jamie.

“Do you still accept Scott as your official guardian?”

“You make it sound like we are getting married or something.”

“You might as well be, Stiles. If Scott accepts the responsibility of becoming your guardian, he will spend as much time around you as he humanly can. Being a guardian is more than following you around, especially considering you are an Aleksy. They can attacked anytime, anywhere, and they are undoubtedly better trained and they won’t hold back. Scott has an edge because of his enhanced strength and reflexes, but he is a skinwalker and they will love killing him. Are you sure, you want to do this, Scott? I will help train you, but it will be hard work”

“I want to do this; Stiles is my best friend and he has saved my ass so many times it is not even funny. He has saved all of us, and I want to make sure he can save more people.”

“Follow me.”

Jamie walks outside to the homemade training course waving Scott over to him. Jamie throws one of Chris’ lovely wooden sticks to Scott, before taking one for himself. It is obvious he has had extensive weapon training from the way he handles himself, as if he could kill any of us without blinking.

“What is the most important thing while protecting Stiles, Scott?”

Scott looks so confused and unbalanced as Jamie strikes him. Scott barely manages to block the first strike before Jamie is over him again. Even now, Scott seems on the verge of panicking and I almost want to break up whatever it is Jamie is doing, because Scott clearly isn’t learning whatever it is Jamie wants me to take from this.

Then Jamie manages to land a strike and Scott falls on his ass and starts scrambling away to prevent a second hit. This time, Jamie reaches out towards Scott who takes his hand even if he looks like he expects Jamie to be tricking him into some sort of trap.

“Can you answer my question?”

“Your question?”

“What is the most important thing while protecting Stiles?”

“I… I don’t know?”

“Staying calm, because if you lose your calm, you are not going to be thinking the way Stiles needs you to think. No matter what happens to Stiles, he needs you to stay calm and think rational or it could get both of you killed. Right now, you started panicking the second I attacked and the next opponent you meet won’t be holding back… they will be trying to kill your best friend.”

“Do you think I can do it?”

The steel in Scott eyes scares me. Something tells me he isn’t asking for him; he is asking because he terrified he won’t be strong enough to protect _me_. It feels wrong, because I am not some weak damsel in distress, I can protect myself just fine.

“Scott, you might be stronger and have certain advantages over the people you meet, but you will most likely meet several opponents at once and they will be professionally trained to kill you and since you are a skinwalker, they will have no problem pulling the trigger. You need to be stronger and faster than you have ever been, because this is not child’s play, but I think you can do it. Now, I am guessing you have seen Stiles run around the course a couple hundred times, so why don’t you start by showing me how your physical shape is?”

Scott sets off around the course, because he has seen me stumble around the course more than a couple of hundred times, while laughing his ass off. Jamie sits down next to me and closely watches Scott around the course. He wants this to work, so I will let him do his thing.

“How is Scott doing?”

“He is determined and he works hard, so he has a chance of pulling this.”

“You seem quite invested in this.”

“Well, if we pull this off, we could change a lot of things for a lot of people.”

 

* * *

 

After practice, Derek comes back to pick me up looking handsome and perfect standing by the camaro. His arms go around my waist and he holds me close without even asking how every went, meaning I must look beat. The kiss is gentle and almost reassuring in a strange way, but Derek always manages to make things feel better whenever he is around.

“How did Scott do at practice?”

“Jamie seemed positive or at least as positive as Jamie can be. It was brutal though and from the descriptions it sounds like it is going to be even more grueling going forward.”

“Historically, Guardians protect council members against hunters, but they also protect them against skinwalkers and skinwalkers have advantages against humans, so they need to be on another level than other council members. Guardians are some of the best hunters out there and they are ruthless, they will attack anything that poses the slightest threat against the people they protect. Being chosen as a guardian is a huge thing in the hunter community. From what I saw, Jamie is guardian material, but consider the trouble Scott had with him and then imagine what it would be like if it was five or six Jamies attacking you…”

It scares me, because Scott and I need to start training. Everything about today is screaming at me that I need to be better and I need to be better soon. I don’t have a couple of months. I am not even sure I have a week if I don’t want lose anybody I love because they tried to save me.

“Can we go home?”

“Sure.”

This time when Derek kisses me he lingers. There is nothing sensual about it, but I feel closer to Derek in those seconds than I did during any of the hottest kisses we have had. This kiss makes me feel safe, it makes me feel at home and it makes me forget just for those seconds.

All the familiar houses and buildings passing by in a blur, everything feels like a blur honestly. My emotions are fluctuating in this strange way, where I am not sure what I am feeling except for the piercing terror that I am going to get my friends killed.

“Stiles, are you sure you are alright?”

“Yeah, I am fine; I think the gravity of the whole thing is just sinking in.”

“I am sorry… I wish I could do more for you.”

“You are already helping me, I know I said you shouldn’t come today, but having you there helped me, Derek. You always make me feel better.

Derek kisses my forehead and if he wasn’t a skinwalker with superfast reflexes I would have killed his ass for doing it while driving, but it feels nice. It feels good to have someone taking care of you.

“I forgot to tell you earlier, but I can’t meet up tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“I have to work.”

It is embarrassing how shocked I am right now, because I completely forgot that Derek actually has a job. It is even more embarrassing that I don’t remember actually asking him about it ever, mainly because I kind of assume that he didn’t actually work.

“What are you working on, at moment?”

“Tomorrow, I am doing some volunteer work, I actually haven’t been doing as much research as I planned the last couple of months, but with everything else happening my research doesn’t seem as important as it used to. I mean, who is going to read a book about Native American folklore anyway.”

“I would.”

“Well, you are pretty weird.”

“I know, but you love me anyway.

 

* * *

 

We find my dad’s cruiser parked outside the house, when we make it back. This usually means my dad plans on going back to work later meaning he is probably pissed about something. He always takes extra shifts whenever he is angry with me, but I don’t know what have done this time.

Stepping through the front door feels like a running a marathon. I am terrified my dad and I are going to go back to the way we were, because I just got my dad back and I am not letting him go again. I am not going to back to ignoring each other and holding grudges, I am not doing it.

“Stiles, we need to talk.”

“I will meet you upstairs, okay? Just call, if you need me.”

It feels good to know Derek can hear everything from upstairs, but he chooses to give us the pretense of privacy for this conversation. As Derek disappears upstairs, my dad comes out from the kitchen looking more than a little angry with me. I still have no idea what I have done leaving me feel defensive, and I don’t like it.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“How could you tell your mother?”

“How could I tell Claudia, what? I barely talk to the woman.”

“You had no right to tell your mother about what happened after she left!”

“I have ever right! I am sick and tired of hiding how shitty those years were, dad, because she deserves to know what leaving cost us; what she cost me!”

Suddenly, my dad looks more tired than furious leaving me feeling lost again. The defensiveness seeps out of me as I watch a tear run down his chin, but it is quickly replaced with a burning anger directed at Claudia, because how dare she do this to us! She has no idea to meddle in our lives when she chose to freaking abandon us all those years ago!

“She doesn’t have the right to meddle in our affairs…”

“I know, but she still needs to know…”

“She doesn’t think I am fit to take care of you… she doesn’t think I am a fit father.”

“She can’t do anything! I am eighteen years old, I am an adult.”

“I just… I don’t ever want to lose you, kid. You are my life.”

“I love you too, dad.”

Honestly, it feels like my dad is trying to push all the air out of my lungs when he hugs me, but I don’t mind. I might need this just as much as he does, because him hugging me this way makes it clear how much our relationship has changed. He never would have hugged me before and now it feels like he is never going to let go and it feels right.

A loud sound of something hitting the door interrupts our lovely father-son-bonding-moment. It doesn’t sound like someone knocking and my dad instantly tenses. It seems like having Deaton and Chris going on about how someone wants to kill your son has left some marks.

“Are we expecting someone?”

“That didn’t sound like knocking, dad.”

“You stay here and get your boyfriend down here, okay. I don’t like this.”

Seeing my dad drawing his gun in our house, it makes my heart beat like a freight train. I can already hear Derek make his way down the stairs, when my dad opens the door and I instantly want to scream my freaking lungs out. Someone left a deer head bleeding onto the porch with the freaking eyes cut out… the blood is everywhere… everywhere…

“Stiles, you need to go upstairs NOW…”

My body won’t move right. It keeps moving in the wrong direction, but the horror threatens to knock me over when I realize they left more than the bloody head.

‘Aleksy Hunting Season Has Begun’


	7. State of Emergency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I should just plan on posting every two weeks, because it seems like the whole posting every week thing has gone out the window anyway -.- This one moves the plot along and it has a lot of Sterek in it. It also addresses some of the issues left over from the second part of the Questions Series concerning Stiles and Derek, so I hope you enjoy it <3
> 
> Please keep leaving kudos and comments, I love hearing from you  
> Tell me if I need to add any tags or warnings  
> Stay safe lovely people <3

Derek comes running dragging me away from the porch, forcing my head between my knees to prevent me from fainting. His big hands are moving up and down my back while supporting me the best he can. Fifteen minutes later, Chris, Ms. Davis, Claudia, and Deaton walk into the living room and I register someone throwing up in the background, which turn out to be Scott with Isaac supporting him through the backdoor a few minutes later.

“Dude, what the hell? There is a freaking deer head on your porch!”

“We know, Scott. You don’t need to remind us.”

The look Derek sends in Scott’s direction while speaking would send most people running, Scott even looks like he considers running for the hills. The sight sent my mind reeling and my body is still buzzing with nervous energy, but I can think straight again.

“It is fine, Derek. We need to talk about this.”

“Stiles, twenty minutes ago, you were having a panic attack…”

“Dad, I am fine! Well, I might not be fine, but I can’t afford to put my head in the sand.”

“I am afraid Mr. Stilinski is right, Sheriff. It is elemental that we find out who might be behind the treat and what it might mean…”

“Deaton, I am pretty sure we know what the message means. Somebody clearly doesn’t want him to take his seat and affect the council…”

“But it could be any of the council members or their families, Claudia.”  

Even now, I can feel a headache coming on, because this is going to be a _long_ night. Consciously, I know we need to have this discussion, but all I can think about is the bloody deer head greeting me on my porch mocking me, saying you will be next.

“Deaton, I think we can exclude some families based on the message.”

“Claudia could be right; ‘Aleksy Hunting Season Has Begun’ has a rather specific wording.”

“If we assume we can exclude the positive fraction that leaves us with the Campbell, the Ness, the Deveraux, the Jäger and the Wolf families…”

“Don’t forget the broader Argent family; other branches of the family haven’t looked too kindly on Allison and me for supporting Mr. Stilinski.”

“I wouldn’t put it past the Deveraux or Jäger families; they have a particular violent history with the Aleksy family in the past.”

“Yes, but they are more direct in the approach, this…”

“This screams psychopath. This indicates someone who enjoys causing mental pain and watching the result from afar, an indirect approach. We need to do research on all the Council members and all the extended family, because whoever is doing this is not going to stop. They are enjoying this too much to stop no matter if Stiles complies with any demands or not.”

It feels strange having everybody ignoring me, considering it is my life on the line. Looking around everybody looks strangely focused, except Isaac is missing. Derek’s hand keeps massaging the base of my skull where I have built up tension through weeks of worrying and it feels amazing, but I kiss him while removing his hand gently, instantly regretting it.

“I am going to go check on Isaac.”

“Do you want me to come?”

“Nah, I have got this.”

I find Isaac in the kitchen looking very intensely at a glass of water without registering that I am standing a few feet away. It worries me, because I haven’t been able to sneak up on any of the skinwalkers since they started their training and Isaac is slipping.

“Hey! Did the water offend you?”

“What?”

“Well, you have been staring quite intensely at that glass of water for the better part of five minutes, so I just figured it must have done something to warrant the treatment.”

“No, I am just thinking… everything that happened… how do you deal with it?”

“Honestly, I had a panic attack when I found the head, my dad hasn’t let go of his gun since it happened, and I had to pry Derek’s hand of my skin when I left the living room. None of us is perfect and it is normal to be scared, and I would like it if you would stay with us for the night.”

“Stiles, I am fine…”

“But I would feel so much better if you were staying here instead of going back to an empty apartment after everything that happened and Derek is staying here, so…”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I do alone better than having people around worrying about everything. It is why living with Derek is so great, because he lets me come to him, unless he can tell I don’t know how to ask for help.”

“So you are not going to humor a friend?”

Isaac smiles and it settles something inside me. I can’t explain why, but seeing Isaac smiling in my kitchen makes me feel like I have done something right for once. It is strange how important this gangly kid has become to me over the past months, considering I barely spoke to him before. Everything has changed so much the last few months.

“Nah, but I want to thank you?”

“Thank me? I didn’t do anything but get your ass dragged out of bed tonight.”

“No, I am mean… before. I am really grateful you helped me when you did; you are a good friend.”

“Well, you deserve it, Isaac.”

Then Isaac jumps forward hugging me out of nowhere. At first, I barely have time to react and it takes me about ten seconds before my brain has caught up enough for me to hug him back. We must have been hugging a while when Scott walks into the kitchen, because he has clearly come looking for me without trying to seem like he is actually looking for me.

“What’s up Scottie?”

“I just wanted to see how you are doing. Do you need me to stay close tonight?”

“Nah, you go home. Your mother is probably worried.”

“Are you sure?”

“I will put up a mountain ash barrier against anything wanting to harm me, so I should be fine during the night. I am going to need you rested for the meeting tomorrow.”

Scott nods still not looking completely convinced. The nerves are affecting everybody, because Derek and my dad walk into the kitchen looking ready to attack. On the way to me, Derek runs his hands through Isaac hair, which clearly calms him down because the fidgeting eases up. It makes me happy to see Derek take care of Isaac, because they clearly trust each other.

“I talked to your dad about staying over.”

“And I agreed this once, because Derek is clearly not going to sleep after tonight and I like knowing you have a trained skinwalker protecting you if something should happen during the night. Besides we all know he would have climbed through the window if I had said no.”

We all laugh, but Derek blushes lightly, indicating that he is not far off. Scott and Isaac disappear after saying goodnight and I put up the mountain ash wards around the entire house. My dad considers cleaning up the porch, but in the end, he wants to file a police report the next day, so he leaves it.

Derek is extra on edge before bed and I practically have to drag him to the damn thing, when I can’t stand having him pacing back and forward anymore. Even then, he still looks like he is ready to pounce anything that moves or looks vaguely threatening.

“Will you hold me?”

“What?”

“Your mind, it seems a million miles away and I need to know you are here or I am not going to be able to sleep at all.”

Derek slips under the covers and holds out his arm. I scramble over and rest my head against his chest listening to his heart beating a little faster than usual. It feels calming, but my head still won’t shut up about the whole thing and with the Council meeting tomorrow, I need to sleep. Having Derek here looking all damn gorgeous and sexy has my hormones going crazy.

“Derek…”

“Yes, Stiles…”

I turn around in his arms kissing him, trying to quiet my mind, but now all I can think about is how great it feels to have Derek’s arms around and how damn hot my boyfriend is. I just wish he would kiss me without glancing towards the damn window every other second.

“Derek, I put up the damn mountain ash barrier, so no one is going to come through the damn window, so will you freaking kiss me already!”

Honestly, Derek’s jaw literally drops, but I don’t freaking care, because I want my damn boyfriend to start kissing me like he means it already. When he actually does kiss me, it feels completely different and my entire body starts buzzing because I don’t want it to stop. Every part of my body is _very_ interested in what is going on even if I know this is not going to go further than kissing no matter how much Derek or I want it to right now.

My lips starts feeling soar, but that sure as hell is not going to stop me from kissing my boyfriend who makes my hormones go crazy. When Derek breaks the kiss, I make a strangled noise between a whine and a moan, but then he starts kissing my neck in ways that is going to leave me with a serious case stubble burn and love bites all the way down my neck and around my collarbones, but this feels too good to protest. The noises leaving my body, makes me want to run away and hide, because I am not going to be able to look my dad in eye tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, my dad has already left for work when we get up and I end up eating breakfast in the car, because Jamie picks me up sooner than expected. Derek has work so he can’t come, but it doesn’t prevent me from daydreaming about my boyfriend and our nightly activities because I am sure as hell not going to forget about that kiss anytime soon.

About halfway my daydream takes a turn towards where the kissing could have gone if Derek didn’t have the control of gods. It does get slightly embarrassing when I can feel myself getting a little too aroused considering I am sitting in a car with Jamie far away from my boyfriend. At least Scott is sleeping on the backseat unable to smell my situation.

“Hey Jamie, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is on your mind?”

“How does the whole college thing work when you are on the Council, because I have no idea how I am going to manage the meetings in the middle of nowhere and a full course load and actually have some sort of a social life?”

“Well, I can’t talk for everybody and it really is different for everybody, but I guess I can give you my perspective. I became a Council member during my sophomore year of college and I knew it might happen, but it didn’t prepare me for any of it. The distance between the bunker and my university meant I had to miss days of classes, even a couple of exams, because of Council work. The sheer workload meant I neglected classes and lost a couple of friends, because they couldn’t possibly understand why I had to ‘go home’ every month for meetings instead of spending time with them. Even then, I believe in what I am doing, so I would never change anything given the chance.”

“Well, at least my friends already know about the whole crazy ass skinwalker-hunter situation, so they will probably be more understanding.”

“And you have a boyfriend you would probably visit anyway and the bunker isn’t too far away from Beacon Hills…”

“I guess it won’t be the end of the world.”

 

* * *

 

The meeting doesn’t exactly go as planned, because we have an unexpected point on the agenda and I admit I probably could handle it better. I mean, when Jamie and Scott physically restrain me from attacking another council member, something went wrong.

It started innocently enough; Bruno Calavera presented the case of a skinwalker family asking for our help, but it turns out I do _not_ agree with other Council members on how we act. I mean having somebody insult everything I believe in makes me feel rather justified in wanting to kick Freya Wolf’s ass in hope that she will stop looking so damn smug!

“Stiles! Remember, you can’t insult them or behave like a teenager without having them use it against you to discredit everything you say!”

I stay quiet for the rest of the meeting, but I want to rip Jamie’s head of, because even if I know he is right, I need to fight for what I believe in, if I want to be able to look myself in the eyes. Jamie pulls me aside after the meeting in the small room my family has in the building.

“Stiles, you can’t behave like this during meetings!”

“Jamie, they want to do exactly the same thing to this family as they did with the Hales, you do realize this, right? This could end up costing them _their lives_!”

“If you want to do something do it outside the council instead of involving the entire council! Use you resources, Stiles; be smart!”

Jamie storms out and I feel like punching something _hard_ , but I manage to pull myself together because visiting the ER is not on my plan for today. How can these people look at a family and not want to help them? They have people hunting them and because this freaking Council won’t lift a finger, whoever it is might actually succeed! How fucked up is that?

 

* * *

 

The car ride home is anything but enjoyable. The tension feels suffocating and all I can think about is seeing Derek, because I need to see someone who will let me be furious instead of trying to convince me to see reason. I don’t even say goodbye to Jamie before I run up the stairs to Derek’s loft, opening the door without knocking and throwing myself on the couch, screaming into a pillow.

“I am guessing the meeting didn’t go too well?”

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“A skinwalker family asked for help, because someone is attacking them and they straight out refused to help them without giving them a solid reason. How can you do that to a family? They had children, _children!_ I completely lost it, Jamie and Scott had to hold me back and Jamie… he doesn’t understand that I can’t sit quietly and pretend I don’t want to strange them!”

Looking up, all the anger leaves my body because I am overstepping so bad right now. All kinds of ancient books and scientific papers cover the kitchen table with his laptop as some sort of centerpiece. Derek was clearly working when I came in and he didn’t even bat an eyelash. Derek is being overly accommodating even if he has been neglecting his work for months for me.

“You are working…”

“It is fine, Stiles. This is more important.”

“You already told me, you have been neglecting it because of me.”

“Our lives have been crazy since we met, everybody at work understands…”

“Derek, I am clearly overstepping right now and I know you are an amazing boyfriend, but you are clearly overcompensating for something. You are overly accommodating, but you need to tell me when I overstep, because I don’t always notice.”

Derek sighs and drops his head into his hands. He looks so young like this and I forget sometimes that he might be older than I am, but he is still young and he has too many issues to count. I have no idea where this is coming from, but I can’t ignore it anymore.

“Derek, where is this coming from?”

“ _Nothing!_ I just… I guess I have a hard time accepting what I cost you and the families of those kids by not sharing my suspicions about Peter sooner. I thought I could give back with the volunteer work and everything else…”

“Derek, you need to stop blaming yourself. You had no proof and, yes, you had your suspicions, but confronting Peter earlier might have made him go feral. He could have killed a lot more people.”

“But I didn’t stop him: you did.”

“And I couldn’t have done it without you!”

Derek looks so close to losing it and I feel so incredibly lost. Everything about this situation feels so unreal that we even need to discuss Peter and everything that happened. I might have held it against Derek at first, but looking back, I know this could have gone far worse if he had acted differently.

“You have more experience with these things, so what can we do for the family from the Council meeting today without involving the Council directly or insulting them.”

“They are skinwalkers, which gives me and the others more leeway than you, so technically we could give the family sanctuary without it involving Stiles. The Hales were famous for it, prior to the massacre, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think I would do it again. Especially considering how their situation is so similar to my own.”

“Would you seriously do this to help me?”

“Being a Hale and being a born skinwalker comes with responsibilities no matter if you are involved with an Aleksy or not. I would be doing it for me and for my family.”

Hearing Derek talk this way makes me realize how much I don’t know about his family and skinwalker traditions and I doubt I can read about it in any of the books in Deaton’s office. It is sad to think that if Gerard had won; all those traditions would be erased from history.

Looking at Derek, I remember the kiss and I instantly want to make out like teenagers, because I am a teenager with an insanely hot boyfriend, but how do I ask? Things have slowed down between us since our talk on my birthday and I understand that Derek wants to slow things down, because everything is so intense between us, but I am not exactly an expert at this. Then there is the whole overstepping my boundaries when Derek has work to do, because how can I be sure he is telling the truth when he says he has time?

“How do you feel about the whole making out like teenagers thing, because I am technically still a teenager and I really want it.”

Five seconds later, Derek kisses me and I fall back against the couch. Derek follows me with ease and our lips stay attached for the whole getting comfortable on the couch process, which turns out to be harder than expected. They always make it seem so damn graceful in movies, but elbows are a very real thing especially when you are a horny teenager trying to impress your boyfriend.

Soon, I forget everything because having Derek on top of me makes everything so much more intense. He is heavier than expected making it harder to breathe and maybe it is the lack of oxygen, but I feel high on endorphins. I want him so bad, but whenever things get a little too heated Derek pulls back or slows everything down and I really wish I knew how to speed things up, but instead I just feel so damn sexually frustrated. How can Derek take this so freaking calmly? I mean, where does the man get his control? ARGH!


	8. Be The Change...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is posted, yay! I hoping to post one more this week, because I start clinical training next week, meaning I will be crazy busy for about four weeks, so I might only be able to post every other week during the those weeks. I am hoping I will be able to post regularly, but it might not happen.  
> This chapter is introducing a new group of characters and the second threat arrives - I am going to apologize for the rhyming in advance, because I am not crazy good at it, but i think it turned out all right. Tell me what you think? Where do you think the story is going? 
> 
> Please keep leaving kudos and comments, they make my day <3  
> Tell me if I need to add any tags or warnings  
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people :D

During breakfast the next morning, Derek announces that he is going to visit the skinwalker family to make sure everything is all right after the attack. I of course assumed I would be joining him since I told him about the whole situation in the first place, but when I bring up when we are leaving, my dad, Jamie, and Derek all send me this look as if I have a death wish for some reason.

“What?”

“Stiles, you can’t seriously think you are going with me?”

“Why not? I told you about it and I care too…”

“Stiles, right now is _not_ be the best time to challenge the Council.”

“I agree with Derek, Stiles. This challenge could be seen as a provocation…”

“I _want_ to do this, Jamie. The Council refuses to do anything and I am not going to stand idly by!”

Right then, Jamie looks as if he wants to slap some sense into me and I understand where he is coming from. His job is making sure I do a good job as a Council member and disregarding all their rules is probably the last thing I should be doing right now.

“If you are doing this, you need to follow protocol.”

“There is a protocol for this?”

“Yes, you need to inform the Council of what you are doing to avoid confrontation later. They will probably advice you against it, so you need to have an explanation ready.”

“Right, any advice?”

“Try not to provoke anybody?”

Jamie looks as lost as I feel. I want to do this and standing up to the Council is important, but I feel like I am about to start World War III or something. How do I keep ending up in these situations all the freaking time? I feel like I am a huge magnet for danger and impossible situations.

Over the next ten minutes, Jamie sets up an online meeting with the Council and I can feel my heart beating faster and faster. Derek and my dad both look like they want to stop me from going through with the whole thing, but I guess they both know there is no stopping me now.

“They are ready, Stiles.”

I sit down in front of the laptop and I see all the other members from the Council sitting in small screens looking more than a little pissed. Taking deep breathes helps with the nerves until I feel somewhat ready to face the music or the pissed Council members.

“Good morning everybody, I want to inform you that my boyfriend, Derek Hale, and I will be going to Oregon for the day.”

“Mr. Aleksy…”

“Stilinski…”

“Excuse me?”

“My last name is Stilinski, Mrs. Deveraux.”

“Right, if I am not mistaken, the skinwalker family we spoke about at last meeting lives in Oregon, please tell me your visit is not related.”

“Officially, I am taking a trip with my boyfriend to Oregon on a day trip. Unofficially, the skinwalkers need to feel that the Council is present in their time of need or they might actually turn against us, the way you all seem to fear. Skinwalkers have lost faith in us, but I am going to make sure that change, because no family should live through this.”

The react is about 50:50 in terms of positivity or negatively. About half of them look like they want to kill me, while the other half looks like they want to start applauding me.

“Just to make things clear, Mr. _Stilinski_. The Council does not support your decision _unofficially,_ but officially we can’t do anything about it.”

The next second, all the other Council members have disappeared from the screen. I feel all the air leaving my lungs and my heart starts slowing down. It could have gone better, but from the small proud smile on Jamie’s face, I know I did all right.

“Now when are we leaving?”

 

* * *

 

The accepting my decision aspect comes with strings attached. My dad, Jamie and Derek quickly agree that we will have company on our trip, meaning Scott and Jamie will be joining us. We don’t know if the skinwalker family is going to be friendly or not, so it is somewhat hard to argue against them coming, because I could actually need the protection.

The car ride turns out to be awkward, because Jamie and Derek have some tension since their trust levels are at a minimum. I am not sure Derek is ever going to trust any Hunters no matter how positive they act towards skinwalkers and considering Jamie’s family history, I understand where he is coming from. Jamie on the other hand is not used to being around this many skinwalkers in a casual situation and he might act all calm and collected, but it does unnerve him.

“Now, Derek, do you know the family?”

“I think my parents knew them, but I never went with my parents on their diplomatic visits, because Laura was the eldest, so everybody expected her to take over. I mean even after the massacre everybody expected her to come back here eventually and take over as the Hale matriarch. Now I am the only Hale left, so I have start maintaining my family’s connections.”

“Do you have any idea what to expect?”

“Well, I don’t know them, but they are bear skinwalkers like Boyd, so they will most likely be more withdrawn than me and Scott. They will most likely be pensive and distrustful because the Council refused to support them and they won’t understand what you are doing there. Hearing that you are an Aleksy might help, but having Jamie here might not help.”

“Derek is right, the Campbell name will not win me any points, but I will leave if things get too heated. I more worried about other Council members attacking than these skinwalkers.”

Silence spreads through the car and we are all remembering the deer head sitting on my porch. Well, Derek and Scott saw the whole thing live, but I am almost one hundred percent sure, my dad sent Jamie pictures after it happened. I know my dad is freaking out, because the investigation is stuck since he doesn’t have a lot to go by. All we have is the blood and the deer head. All those things could tell us is that this person knows how to hunt and considering all our suspects are Hunters that doesn’t really eliminate any of said suspects.

 

* * *

 

When we arrive at the house, I want to cry because it is obvious somebody tried to burn down the house and I can feel the mountain ash in the air. All my senses are tingling, because someone obviously tried to trap somebody in this house before burning it down. The entire left side of the building is black from sod and some parts looks ready to cave in. The entire structure clearly needs serious reconstruction before anybody can live here. How can the Council think this is nothing!

Looking over at Derek, I can tell he is remembering his family’s massacre. I know Derek never forgave himself for not fighting harder when the Council refused to help two innocent teenagers who had their family murdered and the Council pretty much did the same thing to this family. They could have easily have ended up like the Hales and nobody would have done anything.

As soon as the car stops, people start coming out of the house. They look more than a little suspicious about having four strangers show up at their doorstep.

“Announce yourself!”

“Mr. Blackwater, my name is Derek Hale, you knew my mother Talia Hale. This is my friend Scott McCall, my boyfriend Stiles Stilinski and Jamie Campbell…”

“ _Campbell_! What are you doing bring a Campbell to my house!”

“I will leave if you need me to, Mr. Blackwater, I don’t want any trouble, but you need to hear what Mr. Stilinski has to say.”

“Start speaking, Mr. Stilinski.”

The tension is thick and I have a feeling the only thing preventing Mr. Blackwater from ripping Jamie’s throat out is Derek’s last name. From what Ms. Davis told me I gathered that the Hale family is important in the skinwalker community, but this is my first time seeing it.

“Hey Mr. Blackwater, my name is Stiles Stilinski and I am a Council member…”

“ _A council member_!”

“Yes, I might be a Council member and I might be new, but I am still an Aleksy and that name still means something. I am going to fight for you, but I can’t do that openly right now, because I need to pick my battles if I want to stay alive.”

The moment I say the word Aleksy, Mr. Blackwater looks over at Derek and he must confirm it, because Mr. Blackwater actually looks hopeful afterwards. Everything about this situation just solidifies why I need to do this for these people.

“You are an Aleksy?”

“Yes, my mother is Claudia Aleksy, I don’t know if you have ever met her. I have only recently found out about my heritage, so I am still learning, but I am going to fight to change the Council. I am here to see what I can do to help you and your family.”

“You actually want to help us?”

“Of course I do, what happened to your family was a tragedy and I will do whatever I can. Why don’t you show me around and tell your side of the story?”

Mr. Blackwater nods and we follow behind him. Jamie squeezes my shoulder before we enter the house, before Mr. Blackwater starts explaining what happened in excruciating detail. It makes my heart bleed to hear him describe the terror they experienced when their home almost went up in flames. They only survived because their five year old is human and could break the mountain ash barrier so the rest of the family could escape. Who can do this to an innocent family?

On our way out, Jamie steps up beside me and I let us fall a step behind everybody else. No matter how much we drop behind, the skinwalkers will be able to hear us if they want to, but I know Derek rarely uses his enhanced hearing because he feels that it is an invasion of privacy, so I am hoping the Blackwater family feels the same way.

“You might actually be getting a hang of this whole diplomacy thing, because what you have done today could be one of those things that changes the lives of this family.”

“I feel like there is a ‘but’ coming.”

“You might be forcing whoever is threatening you to step up their game, because now you are stepping into the grey zone that terrifies them. I will do everything I can to protect you, but you are putting yourself into a lot of danger.”

“I know, but it is the right thing to do.”

 

* * *

 

On the way back, everybody is painfully quiet. Everybody is going over what the Blackwater family told us, because seeing their home makes it obvious how close they came to losing their lives because somebody thinks they can kill other human beings for something they can’t help.

“Why were they so nervous when they saw Stiles and Jamie at first?”

Scott’s quiet voice draws me back to reality, but how do I answer this question without making this whole thing sound impossible?

“When skinwalkers kill Hunters no matter the reason, those skinwalkers tend to die rather shortly after, because the Hunters’ families take ‘revenge’. The Council knows it is happening, but they overlook it, because it would be admitting the Hunters attacked the skinwalkers without any reason in the first place and then they would admit to killing innocent people.”

“The Council has its faults and it needs to change, but for a long time this arrangement was the best thing they had to keep extreme Hunters in check, because without it, we would have mass murders happening constantly.”

“No matter the alternative, it doesn’t make it all right to ignore the mistakes instead of trying to fix them. The Council will not change itself.”

The quiet settles again and this time no one utters a word for the rest of the drive. I want to change the Council and I constantly wonder if I can do this, if I am strong enough or if I should be putting everybody I love in danger in the first place, because how do you even change something like this? How do you put the world before yourself?

I am an eighteen years old kid with extraordinary powers and I desperately want to do the right thing, but it terrifies me. It terrifies me that I could lose everything, but then I remember the Hales or the Blackwater family who lost everything and I know I need to do this no matter what. I need to be the change I want to see in the Council, I have to step up.

 

* * *

 

When we step through the door, I know something is up. Claudia, my dad, Deaton, Chris and Ms. Davis are sitting around the table and they are clearly waiting for us. Their expressions scream worried and the note lying on the table might be the reason for said worried expressions.

“What happened?”

“This note arrived about an hour ago. I threw out the guts that followed with it, but you need to start making different decisions, because this is _not_ good, kid.”

“What does the note say?”

“It is a freaking poem…”

My dad hands me the piece of paper before pacing around the living room as I read it. My heart is dropping as my blood runs cold, because this is _sick_. Whoever is doing this is _sick_. When I left this morning, I knew it would have consequences, but I never imagined this.

 

_You need to stop those pesky little things,_

_You do not want to see what the future brings_

_Next, you might find your loves hanging from trees_

_As the next gift from my murder sprees._

_Oh, be careful little one,_

_Your loves might soon be gone,_

_Little Aleksy son._

 

 

“A rhyming psychopath…”

“How could you leave this morning without checking in first?”

“Claudia…”

“No, you do _not_ get to Claudia me, when you just received _your second_ freaking _death threat!_ Somebody wants to kill you, Stiles! _Kill you_! It feels like you are doing everything you possibly can to make whoever this is want to kill you more!”

The terror etched into Claudia’s features terrifies me. Claudia has never been easy to read, but this time she can’t hide her emotions at all. Today, she isn’t the big stoic Hunter who survived years of running from the Council, but a terrified mother.

“Your mother is right, Stiles. The situation is escalating…”

“Chris, I _know_. Believe me, I know. I am sorry for not checking in with all of you first, in hindsight, I probably should have, but this trip was worth it. This is what I am supposed to do! Seeing the family when they found out I am an Aleksy… I saw how much I could change things. I have never seen that kind of hope, dad. They believed I could change _everything_.”

“You might not believe it, but Stiles is changing everything…”

A loud knock on the door makes everyone shut up. It even takes a couple of seconds before my dad moves towards the door. I already know who is standing on the other side, so does Derek, Jamie and Scott, but I am not sure how the others will react.

The Blackwater family stands on the other side of the door looking lost. I wave them inside and Chris and Claudia clearly know who the Blackwater family is from their reactions. Mr. Blackwater must recognize them to because he gives them this weird little nod in recognition.

“This is the Blackwater family, the skinwalker family who was attacked a few days ago. Derek offered them sanctuary in Beacon Hills until they rebuild their home. I need everybody to play nice with each other, because we might all be under a lot of pressure, but we can’t turn on each other.”

“We are eternally grateful for your support. As a thank you for helping, my oldest daughter Kaya wants to offer you an opportunity.”

“From what Derek told us, one of your young skinwalkers is a bear like us and considering how different bear skinwalkers can be from wolves, I want to help him train while we are here. We want to help him understand our instincts and why pack doesn’t come natural to us.”

“If Boyd agrees, I think it is a good idea.”

“Derek is right, this is a unique opportunity. Thank you, Kaya and Mr. Blackwater.”

When we accept their offer, Mr. Blackwater seems much more at ease. Derek takes my hand and squeezes it, I know he is trying to calm me down, but I have no idea what I am supposed to do now. We need to find a place for them to stay, but I thought we would have a little bit more time before they showed up and I didn’t even have time to bring it up before they arrived because of the freaking death threat poem. We still need to find a place for them to stay and considering all the death threats having them stay here might not be the best option.

“I want to offer you the opportunity to stay with me while you are here. I know I am a hunter, but I want to help you whatever way I can.”

The tension instantly skyrockets as soon as Jamie made his offer and I can tell Mr. Blackwater looks at me for guidance, because I am an Aleksy. Derek could probably convince him too, but the tension would still be there because he might be a Hale, but he is still inexperienced in this.

“Mr. Blackwater, I can vouch for Jamie, he might be a Hunter, but he is a good man.”

“Then we will stay with Mr. Campbell. Would you mind showing us the way? Our youngest are tired from all the excitement and the long drive.”

“Of course, I will be right there.”

The Blackwater family starts moving towards their car and Jamie turns towards me, and he looks strangely surprised, as if he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“Thank you, Stiles. I am happy you are starting to trust me.”

Then Jamie disappears out the door and I realize that maybe I actually am starting to trust him. We might not agree on everything, but he clearly wants to help me and I need to trust somebody in my corner during those Council meetings from hell.

“Can we continue this in the morning, I really want to sleep?”

“Sure, kid. You and Derek can go upstairs.

 

* * *

 

Lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling thinking through the day. Receiving that note and knowing that somebody I love could get hurt, it kills me. It scared me when it was my life on the line, but it terrifies me to consider one of my loves ones risking their lives for me. Just picturing Derek hanging from a tree dead makes me feel like my world is caving in.

“Do you really think I can change things?”

“Yes, I thought that long before I found out you are an Aleksy. You make me believe that some people might not be as screwed up as I thought.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	9. ... You Want to See in the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I promised, a second post this week! Yay! This chapter is filled with training and the different pack members reacting to Kaya showing up. It also showcases some Lydia and Stiles friendship, which is one of my favorite things to write, well, I love writing all of these guys <3 I hope you love this chapter :D
> 
> Please keep leaving kudos and comments, they make my day <3  
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people <3

The next morning, the entire gang meets up at Deaton’s for one of their crazy training sessions. Derek and I end up a little late, because seeing Derek without his shirt on somehow always make me being strangely distracted every two seconds. Having to pick up Kaya on our way makes us even later than we already were, but I doubt any of the others will notice.

When we arrive, Scott, Isaac and Erica are already goofing around using their enhanced speed and strength to play advanced form of tag I am never joining. Seeing Jackson lying on the bench enjoying the sunshine and Boyd sitting by the back door looking amused, it becomes obvious how the different animals affect or at least reflect their skinwalker halves.

“Hi everybody, sorry we are late.”

“No worries, making out with your hot boyfriend can make anybody late.”

“Jackson!”

“Come on, Scott. We are all thinking it.”

“Well, now that you have embarrassed me, I want you to meet somebody.”

Jackson opens his eyes slightly raising his head so that he can see Kaya, before lying back down uninterested. Erica and Isaac on the other hand resembles two overactive puppies with a new toy. I love them though and how whenever we hang out the tension disappears for a couple of hours.

“This is Kaya Blackwater. She will help us with training for the next couple of weeks, while they are rebuilding her family home in Oregon. Kaya, this is Isaac, Erica, Boyd and Jackson, you already met Scott yesterday. Boyd is the one Derek mentioned.”

Boyd looks incredibly confused when we bring up his name and Erica looks about ready to claw Kaya’s eyes out if she dares come near her man. It is quite hilarious, considering the long glances Kaya keeps throwing in Jackson’s direction.

“Stiles and Derek are helping my family, so I offer to help with your training since we are all born skinwalkers. We are all bears too.”

“Your entire family?”

“No, well, I have a younger sister who is human, but both my parents and my three siblings are skinwalkers too. My sister is the exception not the rule, the way it is with most born family.”

“Well, why don’t you show the guys some moves and test the waters. Derek usually runs this show, but I am sure he doesn’t mind the help.”

Kaya and Derek moves towards the training ground with Boyd, Isaac and Erica instantly following. Jackson looks like he is debating whether moving away from his comfortable position in the warm sun is worth the hassle. Scott quickly pulls me aside looking nervous.

“Jamie isn’t joining us today?”

“I am sorry; I forgot to tell you, he has Council business this morning, so he is joining us later.”

“Right, I will just train with the others for now.”

The serious expression on Scott’s face throws me off a little. Dread starts rising, because I know the threat from yesterday freaked him out and I never wanted my best friend to grow up this fast or at least faster than he already is. I mean we have all grown up the last six months.

While I am watching practice, it becomes obvious Kaya is on a completely different level than the others. Her level of control is out of this world, even rivalling Derek. I know the others are still new to the whole skinwalker concept compared to Derek and Kaya, but they make it seem so effortless.

After ten minutes, Erica comes over and sits down next to me. She clearly wants to talk to me and if the way she looks at Kaya is anything to go by, I am guessing it has something to do with our newest and temporary addition to our group.

“Do you think Boyd will leave me?”

“Leave you? Why would he leave you? He loves you!”

“It is just that… after we all turned, the whole skinwalker business brought us closer together, because nobody else could understand, but now… she understands a part of Boyd that I will never completely understand. All my instincts tell me to seek out physical contact from my friends, while Boyd always keeps everybody at arm’s length…”

“I am not saying it is going to be easy, relationships are never easy. I am saying that Kaya will never compare to you, because Boyd might find her fascinating and she might have some answers we can’t give him, but at the end of the day, your love trumps all those things.”

Erica rests her hair on my shoulder holding my hand tight, before running off into the midst of whatever training exercise they are doing, at the moment. I mean what I told Erica. Boyd looks at her like she is his entire world and she never really notices. It is strange, because she always looks at him the exactly same way.

About five minutes later, Isaac sits down next to me, dropping his head into my lap, so I can run my fingers through his hair. I never question it anymore, because I know Isaac never asks for comfort unless he really needs it. He is always hesitant with new people after what happened with his jackass of a father, but his psychologist is really helping him.

“How are you doing?”

“Conflicted.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I am really comfortable with strangers yet and my psychologists says it is completely normal after what happened to me, but I still feel like a freak. Kaya being a skinwalker doesn’t help either, because my speed and strength won’t help me because she is stronger and faster. At the same time, she is fascinating. She knows so much about being a skinwalker and I want to learn, the whole fear thing just keeps getting in the way.”

“Your psychologist sounds like a smart woman.”

“Yeah, she is great. I am grateful Derek didn’t take her in, though, because I am still coming to terms with everything and the loft is still new to me…”

“Hey, he would never invite anybody to the loft without running it by you first.”

“I know; he keeps calling whenever you are coming over.”

The laugh just comes out, before I can stop it. The whole phone call thing started, when Isaac’s psychologist talked to Derek about different precautions he can take to make Isaac feel as comfortable as possible in their home and one thing is warning Isaac about strangers invading their private space. This led to Derek calling Isaac whenever he brings anybody over even if we are just stopping by to pick up a few things, and it annoys Isaac to no end, because ‘Stiles is _NOT_ a stranger, Derek!’ It has pretty much become a running gag between Isaac and me.

It feels like I am everybody’s favorite person today because Jackson sits down next to about fifteen minutes later looking rather constipated, meaning he wants to talk about something, but he doesn’t want admit that he actually wants to talk about it.

“You want to talk too?”

“This is not funny.”

“I am sure it is not, but I am listening if you want to unload. Is this about Kaya?”

“You noticed her looking like she wants to eat me too?”

“Well that is one way to put it, but yes I noticed she seems interested.”

“I am not sure what to think about her and how do you even tell someone you are not interested in them because they have the wrong bits?”

At this point, I am literally rolling around on the ground laughing aloud, because that is just too damn funny. Jackson looks far from pleased with me, but I never in a million years thought I would be having this conversation with Jackson of all people. Six months ago, he never talked to me unless he wanted to make myself miserable and now he is one of my best friends.

When I finally manage to pull myself together, everybody else is on a break, which means, everybody is looking at me like I am a crazy person, which I technically am but Jackson looks ready to bolt because Kaya really does look ready to eat him.

“Hey, Jackson, how is the boyfriend doing?”

“Danny is doing fine.”

“You guys are finally really together?”

“We have been really together since Stiles’ birthday, Scott.”

“You have a boyfriend?”

The horrified expression on Kaya’s face says it all and she doesn’t know how to hide her emotions at all. Jackson simply nudges me looking grateful and from him that is high praise. After the initial shock, Kaya pulls me aside and thanks me for letting her know about Jackson this quickly.

To Scott’s joy, Jamie finally shows up looking like he wants to punch somebody, which probably means someone on the Council is being problematic. It doesn’t take Jamie long before he has Scott running around like a slightly crazy person around the course. Scott is clearly improving, but Jamie doesn’t let Scott take it easy for a second. He is pushing him to the limit and Scott actually enjoys what the rest of us would classify as physical torture.

“Hi Stiles.”

“Hi Kaya. I hope no one is being too hard on you.”

“Nah, your friends are really nice, but I am surprised that you chose a skinwalker as your guardian. This must be a first on the Council even for an Aleksy.”

“It is a first and I am sure some Council members resent me for it, but Scott is my best friend and I need someone I can trust with everything happening right now.”

“You are a good guy, Stiles.”

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, all my friends are heading home looking more or less beat up and Derek drives Kaya to Jamie’s, because I have my physical training with Chris and Claudia. We have slowly built up to me fighting against both of them using my Spark. My control has improved over the last few weeks, especially because Claudia’s experience makes her a far better teacher than Chris and Ms. Davis, since she actually has practical knowledge.

They are pushing me extra hard today, meaning I am currently sending Claudia flying through the air in front of me, while I have Chris floating in the air above me with mountain ash barrier, because they taught launching a sneak attack would do the trick. The plan probably would have worked a week ago, but ever since I learned to use my Spark to enhance my senses so I don’t have to rely on my eyes to sense my opponents, I have been almost impossible to beat.

It does annoy me that Claudia is holding back, because she knows far more about the Spark than I do and it is too easy. She can fight harder than this, but she is holding back for some reason and I understand that she is my mother and she doesn’t want to hurt me, but when they attack, they won’t be holding back; they will be going for the kill.

“Stop holding back already!”

Chris instantly blows his whistle, which still annoy me to no end since he used it during my cardio training. They are both breathing hard while I feel like my lungs are coming out through my mouth and I might even taste a little bit of blood.

“Stiles, we are not holding back.”

“What are you talking about? You two are great fighters…”

“But my Spark is not nearly as strong as yours.”

“I have seen you use your Spark…”

“Yes, you have but mine is more practical, while you have an insane amount of control when it comes to mountain ash and other kinds of manipulation. I have never seen _anybody_ being able to manipulate mountain ash and air the way you can, Stiles.”

I am not sure when I realize she is telling the truth, but when I do I am not sure what to do. What does this even mean? It makes me feel uneasy and nervous, because how much does it help if I can’t protect my friends? The only thing I want to know is how I can use this to keep everybody safe.

“What does that mean in terms of fighting?”

“If you can find a way to mix mountain ash and for example air or one of the other materials, you could create your own kind of weapon or defense, something no one has seen before and something that might give you enough of an edge to keep you safe.”

The possibilities instantly start going through my mind, because I never considered trying to control mountain ash and air at the same time. Sure, I can create separate attacks at the same time and what I did to Chris might sound like a combination, but it is more the mountain repelling him than me actually doing any of the work. I have no idea how to control both in the same attack, because Claudia might think this is easy for me, but I feel like my body is giving up every second during one of those attacks and I am exhausted after ten or fifteen minutes. I keep fighting, but what happens if I am too exhausted to fight? What happens if Scott, Derek, or someone else is in danger when that happens? What happens if I can’t save them?

Chris must have called break, because when I come back to reality, Claudia is the only one standing before me and I can’t see Chris anywhere. Then again, from the way Claudia looks at me, Chris disappearing might not be a coincidence.

“How are you doing with everything?”

“Claudia… I appreciate you trying, but I… I just don’t want you to expect too much too soon. It is great that you are trying to make amends, but building bridges takes a long time and you burned a lot of those when you left. I am really sorry…”

No, it is fine Stiles. I just honestly don’t know where to start. I have never been good with people and despite loving your father with all my heart, keeping my heritage and my powers from him made it hard even back before I left. Now with everything out in the open, I have to admit that the truth did not set me free the way I hoped.”

“Dad is hurting right now and… it might sound weird or whatever, but we need time. Seeing you again screwed with his head more than he wants to admit.”

“Stiles, no matter what happens now, I am happy I came back, because I get to see you become this incredible person, a far better person than I could have imagined. The way you have stepped up for the Blackwater family, it is life changing.

“Thank you for saying that, it means a lot.”

Having her say those words does mean a lot, no matter how angry I am with her, because she is my mother. It might be hard to admit and I might never truly forgive her for screwing up our lives, but behind all the other things, the love is still there.

 

* * *

 

It turns out my dad has an evening shift tonight, so Derek and I are on our own tonight. It feels strangely domesticated having dinner together this way, just the two of us, even if it is not a fancy restaurant or fancy food. It feels good.

“Do you know if Isaac decided to send out any college applications?”

“Nah, I talked to him, but he seems into this gap year idea. I think it might be good for him too.”

“Yeah, you are probably right.”

“Is this your way of trying to bring up college without really bringing up college?”

“Am I that transparent?”

“Nah, I just know you, Stiles.”

Even with everything going on, I am still constantly hyperaware that in a few months, we will be finishing our senior year and the real world comes along without the same support system. We will all be off to different colleges, maybe even different coasts and I have no idea how my relationship with Derek is going to factor into this. I mean I applied to most of these schools before I even knew him, but I can’t imagine making this choice without him now.

“I am starting college this fall and… what are we going to then, because it is not like I can be a full rime council member, right? It is not as if I am actually going to go hunt skinwalkers and I really want to go to college. I mean, Jamie went to college.”

“Slow down. When you are accepted, we will sit down like this and we will talk the whole thing through. I want to make this work just as much as you want Stiles, and you are smart. You deserve to go to college and have that experience, because it is an experience.”

Suddenly, someone knocks loudly on the front door and every nerve fiber in my body goes into overdrive, because I can’t have more body parts show up on our porch right now, animal or human. I can tell Derek is thinking the exact same thing, because he instantly puts himself between the door and me like some stupid knight in shining armor. I tighten my mountain ash barrier around the house and even mobilizes some of my Spark in case this is an attack.

When Derek opens the door, my heart is beating a million miles per minute and my hands are sweating. On the other side of the door, Lydia waits with no body parts or blood insight. I feel ridiculous, but I have to remember it is no some game, it is real and it is my life now.

“Hi, Stiles. Hi, Derek. We are going to study.”

Lydia walks past us without even batting an eyelash and I have no idea what to do because Lydia Martin is a force of nature. Derek sends me this look like I am supposed to know what is happening, but I just end up shrugging, because I have no idea what this is about.

“Lydia, why are we studying exactly?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Stilinski. I have noticed you being all distracted lately and I understand you have a hot new boyfriend and everything, but I will not have you messing you. I do _not_ want to be valedictorian because you messed up.”

“Lydia, my grades are fine…”

“Stilinski…”

“Fine! I will study with you; it is not like I can argue with you anyway.”

I wander up the stairs to find my books, and when I come back Lydia Martin and Derek Hale are sitting at my kitchen counter having polite conversation and I have no idea what to do with myself. In what universe does Derek even do small talk? He does flirting and polite conversation with people he knows, but I don’t remember him talking to Lydia before.

“There you are. Derek was just telling me about his PhD in Native American Folklore; it is fascinating really. I never knew he had Native American heritage either.”

“Yes, I know, it is how we met. He criticized the book I borrowed.”

“Considering he is one of the leading experts in his field, you should probably have listened.”

“In Stiles’ defence, it is one of the best-selling books on the topic; I just think it lacks a critical eye when it comes to source material.”

“I know what you mean, half the historical material we read at school is laughable but our History teacher refuses to listen to reason. Everybody knows history is written by the winning side, so at least have some decency to give us some real source material.”

It feels like I have walked into some weird alternative universe, because Lydia and Derek are actually have a serious discussion about source material or the lack there of in high school history books. Since when does Lydia even care about historical material yet alone Native American folklore? How did this become my life?

Then someone knocks on the door again, but this time I know who stands on the other side of the door before I even open, because Jackson has this insistent knock like he can’t believe you are actually letting him wait. Once, I let him stand outside for several minutes until he started screaming at the door because he could hear me laughing on the other side.

“Hi Jackson.”

“Hi Stiles, can I hang out here for a couple of hours?”

“You are voluntarily hanging out with me?”

“Drop the irony, you and I both know we are friends and I kind of miss hearing you spew nonsense all the time. The silence is unnerving.”

“Lydia is here and we are apparently studying, but you can hang up too.”

It turns out that Jackson just hangs out on the couch without saying much, but Lydia seems happy that he is here for some reason. At this point, I am not sure I want to know what is happening and I am not sure I care either. Lydia makes studying fun and it takes about a fourth of the time, because she can keep up with me and drag me back on track whenever my mind wanders. Derek and Jackson do look disturbed a few times, but Lydia doesn’t even bat an eyelash and I love her for it.

After two hours, Jackson catches me alone on the way back from the bathroom and I am not sure how I ended up having to heart to hearts with Jackson in under twelve hours, but I am not going to complain. He is actually one of the best people I know.

“How would you feel about telling Lydia and Danny about the whole skinwalker business, because it feels weird dating Danny and keep this secret from him and Lydia and I are suddenly closer than ever now that I am her gay best friend instead of her boyfriend?”

The whole conversation feels absurd but Jackson’s expression is hilarious so eventually I end up breaking and start laughing uncontrollably. Eventually, Jackson even joins in on the laugh, although not as uncontrollably, but I haven’t seen him this happy… ever.

“Gay best friend…”

“You know, you are lucky I am doing this or you would have to endure the constant talk about dresses and shoes… it makes me want to hurl.”

“Nah it doesn’t, you love it.”

“Yes, I might, but you are not telling Lydia that or you are a dead man.”

“I promise I won’t. You know, the only person who can answer your question is you. You know the risk of telling people about this mess and if you feel like you need to tell them, then you need to tell them. There is not much more to say about it.”

Jackson nods thoughtfully, at first, but then suddenly I find myself with an armful Jackson and I have no idea how to handle it. Jackson is actually hugging me and I might have gotten used to the idea of being friends, but I am not sure this is ever going to be normal.


	10. In the Name of Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I managed to find time to write this chapter, I hope you enjoy it. The plot speeds up and I am leaving you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I hope you will forgive me for it. I am not sure when I will be posting next, because something happened in my family that is affecting me quite a lot and I have my clinical work, so I am reaching my limits, but I will try and find the time for the next chapter before Easter. 
> 
> Please keep leaving kudos and comments, they make me smile <3  
> Tell me if i need to add any tags or warnings  
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people <3

When I made the decision to accept the Council seat, I had no idea how much work went into the whole thing. Meetings, protocols, and mails from assholes trying to convince me to support their ‘cause’ is taking over my life and I know it isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

Even now, on my way to practice I have to stop by Jamie’s place to check up on some council business, before I have to spend my entire afternoon with Chris pushing me to my limits. When the door opens, I realize I completely forgot the Blackwater family is staying with him, until I see Kaya standing on the other side.

“Mr. Stilinski…”

“Please call me Stiles. I am supposed to meet Jamie…”

“He just got out of the shower, so he will be around in a minute.”

“Right… do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions, while I wait? We have barely gotten a chance to talk since you arrived here.”

Kaya nods before guiding me towards the living room. It feels weird having Kaya guide me around the apartment, but I feel like I am trying not to spook a frightened animal, so I keep quiet.

“Before I start asking questions, you need to know that you have every right to refuse to answer if I cross any boundaries or if you feel uncomfortable, you are just the only other born skinwalker I know besides Derek and talking about his family and heritage is a sore subject.”

“You want to know about born skinwalkers?”

“Yes, I am not sure how much you know, but months ago, some hunters forcibly activated my friends’ skinwalker side and then tried to control them, so our experience is far from ordinary.”

The surprise on Kaya’s face makes it obvious; she had no idea about everything that happened to us during the past six months. It feels strange explaining the whole ordeal to someone outside of our little group, someone who didn’t live through the Gerard Argent ordeal and the Peter Hale ordeal. How do you even explain something like that to an outsider?

“Being a born skinwalker means tradition and bonds. All families have bonds with each other, but sharing your spirit animal with your family enhances that connection infinitely. When you shift into your animal form, the family bond is something you can’t really explain; it solidifies the feeling of pack. I mean you are responsible for each other and when you live among humans it becomes even more obvious how different the sense of pack can be for skinwalkers.”

“But Derek lost is family…”

“And it can literally kill a skinwalker to lose his pack the way Laura and Derek lost theirs. It disconnects a person completely from themselves and some tell stories of skinwalkers losing themselves in their animal forms and never becoming human again because they couldn’t cope.”

“Derek’s uncle Peter, he lost his mind… he unleashed a curse that ended up killing two young skinwalkers a month back, it almost killed my best friend Scott, and I don’t think Derek has forgiven himself for not stopping Peter sooner.”

“I think you have to understand that everybody is different. The Hale family has produced born leaders for centuries and Derek is a classic Hale. He is natural leader even if he tries to deny it and as a leader he feels responsible when someone under him does something wrong. Besides, Peter is family and in skinwalker culture you are responsible for your family’s action to a different degree than you humans are with your family members.”

Right now, I am not sure if talking to Kaya helped me understand what is going on with Derek, but I know it might be more traditions and skinwalker culture than just Derek being a self-sacrificing idiot when he blames himself for everything that happened with Peter. I don’t understand such a big part of Derek's life and culture, because he won’t talk to me about it and it kills me.

The next second Jamie walks out of his room and two minutes later, I am sitting in the car talking Council business with Jamie while Kaya rolls her eyes in the backseat, clearly not impressed with fine preceding of the Hunters Council.

 

* * *

 

This morning, I expected to be fighting Chris and Claudia all afternoon, but it turns out I have Council training with Jamie and I literally have to pinch myself every three minutes to stay awake. This beats even the heaviest history lessons have I had with Ms. Davis. I mean hearing about the etiquette surrounding different Council related situations, and how to report different hunter or skinwalker situations to the Council is enough going to put anybody to sleep.

“Jamie, when is this going to be relevant, because I don’t exactly see myself eating dinner with any of them any time soon?”

“Stiles, you need to be diplomatic with these people, because half of the discussions happen behind the scenes and you need to make sure you don’t accidentally offend anybody while trying to convince them to support your cause.”

“Okay that makes sense, but I don’t like acting as fake as it appears I need to be.”

“If it helps think about it as merely showing them a certain side of yourself while keeping another one in check instead of acting like somebody you are not.”

“Isn’t that pretty much the same as acting?”

Jamie apparently finds me hilarious, because he chuckles before stopping for the day. It turns out Scott has guardian training right after my training so I stay to watch. Today, they have close combat fighting, which is Scott’s worst discipline. He is naturally fast and agile as a skinwalker, but he has no formal fighting training besides what Derek taught them.

Jamie on the other hand has years of training and as a Hunter he is used to fighting against people with superior speed and strength, meaning his technique is brilliant. He uses Scott’s speed and strength against him with such an ease, but Scott is improving.

Over the last couple of days, he has gotten even faster and his fighting skills have improved drastically. Well, technically, I don’t know if his skills have improved, I just notice that he doesn’t end up on his ass as much as he used to, so I count it as a win.

 

* * *

 

After our practices, it is getting late and Jamie offers to drive us home, but Scott and I decline wanting to spend the walk catching up on everything. We agreed to walk home this morning, because I need to clear my head before facing my dad and Derek has volunteer stuff and I know Jamie has Council stuff he needs to finish, so I don’t want to delay him further.

“How are you handling guardian training?”

“Well, it is okay when I don’t want to punch him in the face for handing me my ass, but then I remember punching him probably won’t helping considering that he is handing me my ass to begin with. He is brutal!”

“I know, but you are doing better; you don’t end up on your ass as much as you used to.”

“Hey!”

Scott pushes me playfully and I can’t stop laughing. Despite the topic, it feels good to joke around with my friend. It feels like before everything happened and as much as I would never give up Derek for anything in the world, I miss when things were less complicated. Then again, whom am I kidding? My life has never been simple, but pretending feels good.

“How are you and Allison doing?”

“Good, I guess. Our relationship is doing well, we are doing well and the physical stuff is… good. She is not too pleased with me being your guardian because she is scared I am going to get hurt, but she understands why I want and need to do it.”

“Physical stuff?”

“Stiles! Stop laughing at me!”

“Dude, if you can’t say sex you shouldn’t be having it!”

“Says the virgin…”

“Low blow dude!”

“What?”

“Derek is holding out.”

“Are you serious? You are dating a hot older guy and you aren’t even having sex?”

“I know!”

Laughing feels good, but Scott’s words keep running through my mind – ‘she is scared I am going to get hurt’. Well, Allison, you and I agree on something. I am terrified I am going to get Scott killed, but he is determined to do this and I am not sure our friendship could survive me telling him no.

Suddenly, two men dressed in black are standing right in front of us holding what appears to be long knives. My best friend’s training kicks in. He quickly puts himself between them and me, and I start reaching out with my spark, grasping for whatever mountain ash I can find and dragging it towards us in hopes of being able to do something.

“Stiles, you need to run.”

“Do you really think I am leaving you? I have fought worse than these two.”

Then the fighting begins and we are holding our own, but our attackers are stronger than I expected. The fatigue is setting in after training, I don’t have enough mountain ash yet to use for an attack, which leaves me with my bodily strength, and I am nowhere near, where it needs to be.

Right when I have enough mountain ash to start an attack, I get this inkling something is off and the next thing I know a bright light comes from all directions blinding me and Scott’s enhanced skinwalker senses, leaving us useless.

We both know what comes next: a bomb. I use the mountain ash I have gathered to form a mountain ash shield as fast as I can around Scott and me. Scott has already turned towards me trying to shield me from whatever blast comes next not knowing about my protective barrier.

When the blast goes off, it takes all my strength to keep the barrier up. It leaves my ears ringing and my others senses reeling. I can’t even imagine what Scott must be going through, but I can feel the panic setting in when he doesn’t start moving right away.

The attackers are running towards the barrier, but it keeps throwing them back. I barely register what is going on, because I notice different sized metal pieces sticking out of Scott’s back, so when he finally starts moving I almost cry from relief.

A few minutes later, I can hear a car coming our way, which seems to be the straw for our attackers who run off into the night. I have no idea what to expect or how to explain this, so I start crying when I see Derek hurrying towards us. I drop the barrier and kiss him while cradling Scott in my other arm.

“There was an explosion… Scott is hurt, Derek. Please help him, Derek.”

I want to say so much more, but I can’t get the words over my lips before I am passing out in Derek’s arms relieved that we are finally safe.

 

* * *

 

Waking up, I realize I am not at home or at Derek’s, which confuses me until I realize I am lying on Jamie’s Couch with Scott a few feet away. Scott looks about as great as I feel and panic sets in when I realize the metal pieces are still decorating Scott’s back.

Before even saying anything, I hurry over to Scott who refuses to let me go, even if he must be in serious pain. I start running my hands up and down Scott’s sides and up to his neck, so he can smell that I am here and alive. It appears to do the trick, because his iron grip eases up.

“Scott, I need to look at your back.”

“I am sorry, Stiles. I am so sorry, Stiles.”

“You did everything right, you protected me. I am safe; I don’t even have a scratch on me.”

“I am sorry. I am so sorry.”

He keeps saying it repeatedly, intensifying the pain in my chest with each time. Eventually, I ask Jamie for some clean cloth, water, tweezers, and some water to fix Scott’s back. I notice Derek sitting in the chair in the corner looking so small and scared, but I know Scott needs me more right now, no matter how much I want to disappear in Derek’s arms.

Then I start the slow process of pealing out the metal pieces from the bomb. If any of those had hit me, I would have been on my way to the hospital, but because Scott heals better, he barely bleeds when I pull out the longer pieces. I keep wondering if they punctured his lungs or any other organs. I keep wondering how close my best friend came to dying tonight because of me.

After I have finished bandaging Scott, the front door opens and Claudia, Chris and my dad walk in looking terrified. They hurry over and my dad hugs me for the better part of five minutes before letter go and Claudia looks like she wants to join him, but keeps her distance.

“What the hell happened kid?”

“Two people dressed in black attacked us on our way home from Deaton’s. They were definitely hunters, they had similar training to Jamie, and we were holding our own, Scott was brilliant, but we weren’t prepared for the bomb…”

“The bomb!”

“Yes, they had a light grenade or something go off first blinding us and then a bomb went off sending shrapnel flying everywhere. I managed to throw up a mountain ash shield at the last moment, but Scott covered me and got hit by a few pieces.”

“It is all my fault…”

“Scott, it is _not_ …”

“I did everything wrong, Stiles! You could have _died_ today, because I am not good enough at my job, so don’t you dare tell me this is not my fault!”

Scott’s breathing is uneven and I know I can’t push him too far right now, because his body is still healing from having pieces of metal lodged into it. I can still feel the anger boiling under my skin, though, because this is _not_ Scott’s fault. He did everything he could to keep my safe and he can’t even see it. How did this become my life?

“Scott, I freaking removed _metal pieces_ from your body less than five minutes ago and those would have killed me, if you hadn’t shielded me. I wouldn’t have been able to redirect them with my Spark because of the light grenade and the surprise. _You saved my life!_ ”

“Scott, what you did might not be perfect, but Stiles is right. You did everything you could in an impossible situation to keep your friend safe.”

Scott clearly doesn’t agree with Jamie and me, guilt written all over his face, but he keeps quiet. My dad looks at me like he wants to lock me in my room and never let me out into the real world again, and Derek looks like he might actually help him.

“Jamie, you do realize this forces us to report the attack to the Council. It could be a general threat against the entire Council and not just Stiles, which means keeping quiet could damage his position on the Council severely.”

“I don’t like telling the Council about this…”

“I am afraid Chris is right, Stiles. We have to follow protocol. You can’t afford to lose ground, especially if you insist on doing the bloody vote.”

“Vote? What is Jamie talking about son?”

“Yesterday, I proposed a vote that will make it easier to punish those who attack skinwalkers without a valid reason. I am guessing Jamie thinks it might be the reason things escalated today.”

“You bet I do. I told you that it is too soon, but you never listen.”

“I am afraid that is nothing new. My son never listens.”

It feels like I am six years old again sitting with my dad in the principal’s office hearing them discuss how I am an unruly kid. It makes it worse when I notice Derek nodding in agreement in the background, because I know, I am strong willed and I don’t always listen when I should, but I never planned for any of these things to happen.

“Do you think you could describe the attackers for me? You might be able to remember something that I can use to in my research to find anything to point us in the right the direction.”

“Sure. We were walking home, joking around, when they suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They were completely dressed in black and I couldn’t make out their faces, but they were taller than I am and far more muscular. They had similar training as you or at least their fighting still seemed similar. They never spoke, so I can’t say anything about voices or accents, but now that I think about it, they had this weird smell about them, it might be to throw Scott off. We were holding our own and it felt like we were getting the upper hand, when the light grenades or whatever they were went off. I had gathered enough mountain ash at this point to throw up the shield, because I had this bad feeling something was going to happen, but some of the shrapnel went through and hit Scott. The Hunters couldn’t come through it though, and they ran when they heard Derek’s car coming. You can have the shrapnel from Scott’s back, I am not sure how much it helps, but it is something.”

“Historically, Deveraux or Jäger families have a particularly hostile relationship with the Aleksy family. I don’t know if it is relevant, my own research hasn’t shown anything, but you know more about the current workings of the Council than I do.”

Jamie and Claudia start discussing different theories and aspects with Chris occasionally making a comment here and there, while I left wondering why she has not brought up her own research earlier. We are supposed to work together and she says she wants to be a part of my life again, but it feels like she still has one foot out the door and I am not sure she even notices anymore.

 

* * *

 

They keep discussing different things for another hour, while Derek and I try to get Scott talking, but he shuts down completely whenever I bring up whatever guilt he is feeling and Derek has even less lucky getting something out of him than I do. Scott honestly looks relieved when the meeting ends and he rushes out of the apartment, barely saying goodbye.

“Son, do you want to drive home with me?”

“Nah, I figured I would drive with Derek, but I will be home shortly.”

“Right, I just want to let you know we are having dinner with your grandparents and your mother tomorrow evening at the diner.”

“And why exactly is this dinner happening?”

“My son told me to stop holding the past against everybody in my life and I figured dinner would be a good place to start, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I would. I am proud of you, dad.”

“I will see you two at home. Drive safely.”

“We will, you too.”

Before we get in the car, Derek pulls me in close and holds me against his chest with his nose in my hair breathing me in. I know I scared him tonight, so I just let him hold me for a couple of minutes before we make our way towards my bedroom and the long awaited sleep that follows.

Halfway home, my phone starts ringing and the caller-ID says Jackson, which confuses me to no end. Jackson never calls and never this late. He occasionally texts me whenever we are meeting up, but he generally prefers talking to me face to face.

“Hi Jack…”

“Stiles, you need to get to Danny’s, something happened to him… ”

“Jackson, calm down, breathe. What happened to Danny?”

Derek looks at me worried and I can feel my heart speeding up. We can both hear the panic in Jackson’s voice and he never panics; he never shows this much emotion.

“I told him about me like we talked about, and he took it so well, Stiles, but something happened afterwards. He suddenly collapsed and he is barely breathing, Stiles. I don’t know what to do.”

“We are coming.”


	11. Emotions Running High

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I suck for being so horrible at updating this thing, it has been over a month and I am really sorry. Life just caught up to me, my mother is sick and I trying to deal with it, but i managed to finally write the rest of this chapter. I sort of got stuck at the poem/riddle, but it turned out alright in the end. Anyway, i hope you like this chapter <3
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos they literaly make my day <3  
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people :D

As soon as Jackson hangs up, I start dialing my dad, because I am guessing this won’t be making it in time for dinner. It takes a couple of tries before my dad actually picks up, but he sounds slightly freaked out when he greets me.

“Stiles, what is happening?”

“I am fine, dad, but I have a friend emergency on my hands, Jackson called and there is a whole thing. I am really sorry but I am not going to make it to dinner.”

“Stiles, I understand. I call your mother and your grandparents and we will reschedule.”

“Thank you for being awesome. My phone is running low on battery by the way so if anything happens text Derek and he will pass on the message.”

“I will, take care of yourselves, do you hear me?”

“Yes, sir. I will see you at home.”

Talking to my dad took my mind of everything happening, but Derek must have turned the car around, because we heading straight for Jackson’s. It does surprise me a little that Derek actually knows where that is, but I guess being head-skinwalker or whatever he is, makes him responsible for everybody and knowing where everybody lives probably comes with the territory.

Five minutes later, Derek parks the car outside Jackson’s house and I sprint out of the car and run upstairs without even bothering to knock on the front door. Jackson is all over the place crying and I have never seen him lose it like this, not even through everything about his biological parents.

It takes me a few seconds to realize that the strange object floating above Jackson’s bed is actually Danny who appears to be in some of trance. I am beginning to see why Jackson is freaking out, because I am honestly joining him, because what the hell is happening?

“Stiles, you need to help him… please, you need to help him…”

“Jackson, you need to calm down and explain what happened in detail.”

“I am freaking out, Stiles! What if I hurt Danny somehow?”

“I know you are, but freaking out doesn’t help Danny right now.”

“Well, I decided to tell him about the whole skinwalker thing and he actually took it really well. He actually seemed kind of relieved somehow because it explains a lot of the crazy shit that has happened to all of us the last year. Anyway, I left the room for five minutes and when I came back, I found him like this and he won’t wake up, Stiles… What if I screwed up or hurt Danny?”

Jackson looks like he is heading straight towards a panic attack and for a guy who has had a lot of those, I feel strangely inadequate to handle this. The next thing I know Derek is guiding Jackson towards a chair forcing his head between his legs and helping him with his breathing. It feels strangely like a déjà vu, because Derek has helped me so many times with my panic attacks the last few months, I never realized how great he is at this.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, thank you. How did you know how to do that?”

“He helps me through mine.”

“You have panic attacks?”

“Apparently my family has problems with PTSD due to overactive survival instincts.”

“Right…”

Derek puts his hand back on Jackson’s knee drawing his attention back at him. It feels strange seeing it from the outside, but Derek is great in situations like this. You never notice it when you are the one having the panic attack because nothing really registers all that much. Unless, it is one of my nightmares, then I feel like all my sense are on overdrive.

“Jackson, I need you to understand that natural skinwalker changes sometimes happen this way. The forced shift through the spell happens differently…”

“So you are saying everybody goes through this unless they have crazy hunters forcing them to unconsciously shift to control you?”

“No, this usually only happens when the animal side is powerful, because the human side needs to adapt. This is not an easy process so he is likely going to be exhausted and a little vary when he wakes up. He won’t understand what has happened to him.”

“He is going to blame me for doing this to him, isn’t he?”

“Jackson, what are you talking about? Danny loves you…”

Jackson looks like he is about to crawl out of his skin with worry and every other second he glances towards Danny like he is trying not to look but he can’t help it. It is so obvious how much Jackson loves Danny even if he doesn’t understand it himself.

“Stiles… you don’t understand what it is like being a skinwalker. I am sorry if it sounds harsh, but you don’t understand the instincts and sudden increase in strength or speed. It is cool when you play lacrosse and want to win, but I have to constantly watch myself around my parents… I have broken around ten wine glasses while unloading the dishwasher because I got unfocused… everything sound, smell, anything feels ten times louder or stronger or whatever…”

“Jackson, why would Danny blame you?”

“Because I knew this could happen. Derek warned us that the people we told could change into skinwalkers and I chose to be selfish and tell him anyway and now he has to go through all those things… how can he not blame me for that?”

“Jackson, I am going to tell you this because I care about you and because you have become one of my best friends too. You blaming yourself is bullshit. I know you are scared, but do you honestly think Danny would rather not know about this major part of your life? _You love each other_ , but your relationship is going to suffer if you can’t tell him about this huge part of yourself. It is part of your heritage; it is part of your biological parents… you can’t hide it.”

The tears start running down his face again and I can tell he has a death grip on Derek’s hand. I think he knows what I am saying is true, but he has spent his entire life terrified of rejection no matter how cool and collected he seems at times. It breaks my heart, because he is truly an amazing person no matter how snarky and

“I found out their names…”

“What?”

“I found out the names of my biological parents. My dad pulled some strings for me and gave me an envelope with basic information on them. It took me weeks before I opened it… I was so scared that it would ruin the picture of them in my mind, but it just make me wish I could have met them even more. I wish I could tell them that I ended up in a good place; that I survived.”

“What are their names?”

“Gordon and Margaret Miller.”

Derek freezes instantly and pulls back for a second, before putting his hand back on Jackson’s leg. He looks like he is internally debating something, but I am not sure what it has to do with the names of Jackson’s parents. Jackson clearly doesn’t either, because he starts acting on edge again.

“I knew them.”

“What?”

“I knew your parents. Well, I met them once when I was young and they visited my family. They were visiting because your mother was pregnant and it is custom for skinwalkers to announce their pregnancies to the head of the largest family in the area… I wasn’t very old at the time, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I do remember your mother had baked these amazing chocolate chip cookies and she talked with me for hours while my mother and your father meet. That must have been you, the baby, so… I guess we have met before.”

Jackson has quiet tears streaming down his cheeks but this time they don’t seem like sad tears, they seem like the tears you cry when you are happy and sad at the same time. I never considered that Jackson’s biological parents could have known Derek’s, but it makes sense in a way. The skinwalker community seems like a tight knit group, especially in a small town like Beacon Hills.

“Thank you… thank you for sharing that. I don’t really know anything about my own history, so it is nice hearing about them.”

“Of course, I could ask around for you to see if anybody has more stories or if anybody knew them is still around, if want?”

“Yes, I would like that.”

It feels strangely intrusive to watch Derek and Jackson in that moment, so I turn around and check on Danny instead. He looks strangely peaceful like this and I am not sure what I am supposed to do about the whole floating thing, because it might only be a couple of feet, but I doubt I would be happy to wake up after hitting the bed.

Then suddenly it happens, Danny’s body drops to the bed and I have no idea what to do, because the next thing I know, I have full-grown tiger in front of me. I guess that solves the whole I wonder what Danny’s skinwalker animal is going to be, but the tiger does not seem right now.

“Guys, what do I do about the tiger?”

Jackson moves towards Danny, but the tiger hisses at him just as much as he did me. Instead of backing away like I did, Jackson transforms into his leopard instead, which seems to calm Danny down. It is the first time I have seem Jackson transform but he is beautiful, even though I am never going to tell him, because his ego is big enough as it is.

A couple of minutes later, the two giant cats are lying in Jackson’s bed spooning and I am not sure if I am supposed to be fawning over them or laughing my ass of, because it is both the cutest thing ever and hilarious. I end up taking a picture, leopard Jackson is not too pleased with, but he stops growling when I tell him I will send it to him later.

“It is cool that their spirit animals are both cats.”

“Yeah, it is. I think they are calm enough for us to leave now. Do you want to grab some dinner before I drive you home for the night?”

“Sure”

It is feels strange leaving them behind, but I can’t help thinking about how small Jackson looked next to Danny. I guess Danny is about a head taller than Jackson in person, but I never considered how much bigger tigers are than leopards. They are kind of cute together, though.

 

* * *

 

I borrowed Jackson’s charger on my way out, since I took the very nonchalant growl as a yes when I asked. I am guessing I would have bite marks right now if he really didn’t want me to take and considering this is Jackson he probably has thirty of these stashed somewhere.

When my phone comes back on, I have several missed calls and several messages from Jamie. My adrenalin kicks in, because he never calls this late unless it is some really important Council business and considering everything that is happening, it might be related to my stalker psycho case too.

“Jamie called me a bunch of times.”

“Do you know what he wanted?”

“No, but he left a couple of messages.”

“ _Hi Stiles, I am sorry for calling so late, but I might have figured this out. It suddenly makes sense, Stiles. Everything suddenly_ fits _. I am coming to your place, meet me there as soon as you can.”_

My heart starts beating like crazy, because this could be over in ten minutes, if what Jamie is saying is true. He could have found the person who has been attacking us.

“He says he might have figured out who is stalking me… he went to my place.”

Derek instantly speeds up and thank God, my dad’s officers is nowhere around, because the speed he drives could have cost him his license. We run towards the house without saying much, but the place is strangely quiet when we walk in.

In the end, we find my dad sitting at the kitchen counter looking paler than I have ever seen him. Everything in my body screams that something is wrong, because why isn’t Jamie here? Jamie should be here by now; he left that message hours ago. Did he go home already?

“Dad, what is happening? Where is Jamie?”

“Stiles, Jamie was attacked and has been admitted to the hospital. His condition is critical and they had to put him in a medically induced coma to prevent his brain from swelling further.”

“John, do you know who did this to him?”

“No, all the evidence points towards an accident, but I think we all know…”

“Jamie figured it out… he figured it out, and whoever is attacking me found out and tried to stop him from telling us…”

“Stiles, I need you to calm down…”

“ _They are attacking MY FRIENDS, dad!_ They are attacking _my friends_ and I can’t do anything _to protect them_! How do you expect me to stay calm? I am _freaking out_!”

“Stiles, I need you to listen to me, Jamie might have been at the wrong place at the wrong time; he might just have been a casualty…”

“Do you think that makes me feel better?”

My dad takes a step back and Derek looks like he is calculating the odds that I will punch him if he tries to hug me, but I can feel myself falling apart and I could really use my boyfriend right now, so I stumble towards him before I breakdown in his arms. I can feel the tears streaming down my face, because I might just have known Jamie for a couple of weeks, but these people are hurting him because of me and he is a good person. He doesn’t deserve this!

“I know this is the worst time to tell you this, but whoever is attacking you left another riddle hinting at who it might be… I think Jamie must have found it before….”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, it is almost like he is taunting us or if he actually wants us to guess it.”

Even with Derek’s arms around me, grounding me, I feel like I am floating away. I never thought this would be my life, but it feels like the last year of my life has been one disaster after the other and I am not sure how much longer I can keep going.

 

 

* * *

 

All the things I want to do

And I will see them through

Like your wolf, I want your heart

But that will only be the start

You might think me a monster

A wolf chasing a lamb

But you will see me for what I am

A Lady Friday planning their death

In our little game of chess

 

The words from the second letter keeps going through my mind over and over again. This is a clear threat and I have no idea who I am up against; I feel so useless. I am an Aleksy, I am supposed to protect the people around me and all skinwalker kind, but I can barely protect myself.

It doesn’t help that Derek has been staring at me for the better part of 30 minutes clearly debating whether to bring something up. I know it is the nerves enhancing my annoyance but I want to scream at him and I pray that I won’t give an excuse, because I don’t want to fight with him.

“Stiles, are we going to talk about what happened downstairs?”

“Happened downstairs?”

“Your outburst…”

“ _MY OUTBURST_ … Seriously? I have every right to be freaking out right now, I have some maniac after me attacking my friends, and he or she… whatever… actually managed to put Jamie in the hospital. Jamie is a far better fighter than I am, so how the hell am I supposed to fight this person?”

“Stiles, you can’t blame yourself for everything that is happening…”

“Like you are one to talk!”

“Stiles…”

“No, don’t you dare Stiles me! You are not much better, you can’t let go what Peter did and it is _killing me_ to watch you beat yourself up every five seconds.”

It is like pulling a switch and the anxious expression on Derek’s face turns into something I can’t even explain. He shuts down completely and I want to punch myself for saying it, but I know we need to have this conversation, because Derek has been playing the perfect boyfriend for weeks and he might be the perfect boyfriend but he is also dealing with a serious load of guilt.

“Derek, I am really sorry. I mean what I said, but this was not how I wanted to bring it up.”

“It is fine, I will just leave…”

“No, Derek, we need to talk about this. You are not Peter and I understand that you feel responsible for him the way I feel responsible for Jamie, but Peter was barely Peter at the end. You told me you barely recognized him as you uncle, so how can you blame yourself for something he did?”

“He is my _family,_ Stiles. I was supposed to…”

“Stop him? Derek, you couldn’t stop him. If you had crossed him, I am pretty sure he would have killed without hesitation, so I am actually pretty glad you didn’t try to stop him. I like having you around. It sucks what he did killed people, but you are not to blame. If you want to blame somebody blame Gerard and Kate Argent, blame the stuck up Hunters who refused to help your family. Just stop blaming yourself, because you are _not_ to blame.”

The way Derek looks into my eyes, it feels like he searching for something, maybe even a flicker of doubt, but it is not there. I forgave Derek for keeping quiet almost as soon as I found out he had done it, which terrified me because of what it means. I love him.

“You know, people pretty much expect me to save the world because of my last name, a last name I didn’t know about until a few months ago. During the last few months, my entire life changed and I am happy about most of the changes, I mean, you are _awesome_ , but right now a murderous psychopath is trying to kill me and I don’t want my friends and loved ones caught in the crossfire.

“Stiles, if I need to stop blaming myself, you need to stop feeling responsible for everybody’s actions. We make our own decisions and we are going to be fine.”

“I object to that because Scott is my Guardian and for some reason he seems determined to get himself killed over some sort of misplaced guilt. I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

“You won’t lose Scott; he is stronger than you think.”

“And you better be freaking Superman, because I _can’t lose you_ , Derek. You are the only damn thing that is keeping me sane right now.”

“I love you too, Stiles.”


	12. Surprising Friendships

The next morning, I am back in my usual mindset and I keep going over everything with the stalker slash psychopath, trying to find whatever it is Jamie found. After three hours, I feel like I might start pulling my hair out, because I literally have nothing.

Sure, Lady Friday indicates that they are a woman, but it might also just be a reference to something else or an attempt at misleading us. Mentioning my wolf is clearly a threat against Derek, but everything is so vague, I am not sure what I am supposed to protect him from right now.

Scott must have knocked on the door at some point or rung the doorbell, because he looks anything but impressed with me standing there. I try innocently waving at him, which actually does manage to make him laugh, so I guess it is somewhat of a success.

“I see you are working on another wall of weird.”

“Ah, the Smallville reference. I am guessing you heard about Jamie and my ‘outburst’”

“Derek did tell me to avoid using that word, which was strange considering that he didn’t want to tell anything else. You two really have a strange relationship.”

“Like your fairytale one with Allison is any less weird.”

Scott sends me look that clearly says ‘you clearly haven’t seen you two together’. I could do the same, but something is off; he doesn’t start gushing about Allison like he usually does. Really looking at him, I realize he looks heavier than usual like he is carrying the world on his shoulders.

“Scott, we need to talk about something.”

“What is it? Have you found something?”

“Why did you chose to become my guardian? You have your entire life in front of you and you are choosing to throw it all away over some misplaced guilt over not being there for me when you thought I needed you to be. I just _don’t get_ it.”

“I might have thought that in the beginning, because you have literally saved my life twice in under six months and I feel like I have been nothing but awful to you over the past few years. You are the best person I know and I want to keep you safe; you are my best friend. Now, though… I understand what you could be to the world and I want to see that happen. I want to see my best friend change the world and make sure innocent people won’t be killed over something they can’t control. You might not understand it, but you are one of those people who make other people believe in better things and I think that is worth protecting just as much as I think my best friend is.”

“Wow that is… thank you, Scott, for saying that.”

I feel like I am seeing Scott for the first time. For some reason, I never noticed how much he grew up over the past few months since becoming a skinwalker. Technically, he has always been responsible, always taking care of his mom and walking to help support them, but right now, I am seeing a man fighting for what he believes, not a teenager struggling to find his place in the world.

“Dude, I am sorry if I am overstepping, but usually you start a monologue about Allison whenever she is brought up and today… you didn’t. Are everything alright between you?”

“You noticed, huh?”

“Well, it is kind of hard not to…”

“It hasn’t been doing too well lately. Not because we stopped being crazy about each other, but… she doesn’t understand my need to be involved in all of this when it could get me killed.”

“She wants you safe.”

“Maybe we are too different, if she can’t understand that I need to do this instead of throwing it in my face whenever she gets the chance.”

“Have you told her what you just told me, because that was some speech?”

“No… no, I haven’t, but I guess it is worth a try.”

I can’t help padding him on the back with a heavy heart. Scott looks so lost at the prospect of losing her, but at the same time, it is doesn’t seem like he actually thinks he can keep her.

 

* * *

 

An hour later, I give up trying to find something I apparently can’t. Instead, I decide to go to hospital to torture myself some more, because in what world does it ever help anybody to watch over a friend lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

It is never not strange seeing somebody you know lying motionless in a bed like they a sleeping. It always makes me feel like a creeper, because when isn’t it creepy to stare at someone sleeping. I mean, it feels like such a stalkerish move.

Talking to him doesn’t feel right either, mainly because I can’t bring myself to tell him that I apparently suck at this, because I can’t get the pieces to fit together. In this message, he made it sound so obvious, but after staring at it for five hours, I can honestly say it isn’t.

Suddenly, I notice the bucket of rhododendron standing beside the bed with an unopened card next to it. Ms. Davis’ voice keeps running through my head saying that rhododendron is a warning to beware. My blood runs cold when I read the four lines in the card.

 

Stay good, little boy of mine

Or you will force me to repay

It would be child’s play

To cut Campbell’s lifeline

 

The opens up and I am just about to send whomever flying, until I see it is Derek. The words won’t leave my mouth so I hand over the note and Derek’s expression hardens. We both know that the stalker brought these and now he is taunting us by showing us that he can get to Jamie.

“What are we supposed to do?”

“Call your dad; he could put someone on guard. That is a clear death threat.”

“Whoever he puts on this could get killed, Derek. This person is a trained killer!”

“It is their job, Stiles.”

“I know, but it is that fair that Jamie has to pay for being friend and it is not fair that whoever gets the shitty job should pay for something they know nothing about!”

The claustrophobic feeling is back and I can feel it heading towards a straight out panic attack. It feels like a defeat whenever I can feel the anxiety building, because I have beaten this thing twice and I am sick and tired of having it control my life. I am generally sick and tired of everybody trying to control my life! I want to be an ordinary eighteen year old trying to figure out his freaking life!

“We need to find out who this is, because I don’t want them controlling my life.”

“And we need to find out who it is before the Council vote, because I am guessing that is what being a good boy means. They want to force you vote against your own changes…”

“Well, this is just freaking ironic.”

I want to scream and throw a tantrum, but we have a deadline know. We need to find whoever did this, before the vote in two weeks or all the work I have done so far goes to waist. 

 

* * *

 

It feels strange stepping into the diner like it belongs to a different life. Six months ago, I spent more hours here than I did at home, but I realize I have barely step a foot in here since everything started. Sure, Derek and I come here once a week for dinner, but it is a long way from every day.

It is even stranger seeing Claudia sitting next to my dad and my grandparents. I don’t think all of them have been together in the same room since she left and from the way my grandparents keep looking at each other I am guessing they don’t know how to react. The tension between my parents probably doesn’t make the situation better, because it can be cut with a knife and I starting to doubt if my dad really thought this whole thing through. It isn’t like we can talk about the whole skinwalker business considering that my grandparents are right next to us and my parents need to say those things before anything is going to be somewhat bearable.

“Hey, have everybody ordered?”

“Yes, I figured you would be fine with a cheeseburger and curly fries.”

“Please tell me you at least bothered to look at something heart friendly?”

“I had a salad for lunch.”

“Like that is going to help when you eat a pound of possible heart attack for dinner.”

“Stiles…”

“I know I will shut up, you are the father and make your own decisions. Jamie’s situation is stable by the way. I stopped by the hospital early.”

My dad gives me a sad nod knowing seeing Jamie couldn’t have been easy on me. It wasn’t but right now, I am not looking forward to telling him about the note when we get home either. He will probably go into overprotective mode trying to forbid me from seeing Jamie or going anyway near the hospital, which we both know I won’t listen.

“Do you think you are getting back together now that you are back in the same town?”

 “Grandma!”

“Stiles, it is fine. Of course, your grandmother is just trying to protect her family. It is perfectly understandable everything considered. To answer your question, no, I don’t expect to get back together with John and I don’t expect us to be a family again any time soon. I happy being a part of their lives and helping Stiles with the small things he will let me be a part of. I know our situation is hard and that I caused John and Stiles an immense amount of pain by leaving and earning their trust is a process and it needs to happen before we can move forward.”

“Mother, I don’t appreciate this, but Claudia and I won’t be getting back together, but we might end up being friends again.”

“You better, son. You have a beautiful and brilliant son who needs both his parents, so you better put him above whatever petty fight you have going on.”

It leaves me lost for words, because my grandparents will never know the whole story, but I have never seen either of my parents blush until now. It is even stranger hearing them talk about their relationship, because I know they will never get back together, but hearing them say it settles something in me I never knew needed settling.

“Now, Stiles, when will we be officially introduced to that boyfriend of yours?”

“Grandma, you have already met Derek several times.”

“It’s not the same, kid.”

“Grandpa, you two have probably known Derek longer than I have, I mean, you introduced us after we ran into each other at the library!”

“Your grandparents are right, Stiles. You should invite Derek to the next family dinner.”

I am not sure what it is more disturbing, seeing both my parents agreeing on having a dinner with Derek or the fact that I will have to sit through an entire dinner of this tension again. At least, Derek will have to suffer through it with me. That might actually make it bearable.

“Now, we better get dinner ready. We will be back in five.”

As soon as the grandparents have left the room, Claudia and my dad turn towards me looking anything but pleased. This is just great, I have to sit through this and I have to be lecture on the irresponsibility of my actions. I feel like I am five again!

“I am guessing you’re not please with me?”

“We are _worried_ that you are taking unnecessary risks.”

“You keep pushing the Council to their limits instead of taking small steps and allowing them to get used to the idea of you. These are trained killers and you have seen how they push back.”

“And you going to see Jamie alone is another example of this behavior.”

“Scott dropped me off and Derek came ten minutes later and drove me home. We are talking about ten minutes alone in a public place. Besides, I can protect myself, which I have proven more than once and I am improving every day, you told just a few days ago.”

“Is this true?”

“Stiles is capable of protecting himself and he is making tremendous progress with his Spark, he holds the possibility of being incredibly powerful, maybe the most powerful Aleksy in centuries.”

It must have killed Claudia to say those words and even if I know she is telling the truth, hearing them scares me. My powers holds a promise to the world that skinwalkers might have a lighter future than the fear they are living in now, but I am not there yet. I hate admitting it, but I am vulnerable right now. I am constantly behind on mentally and physically, because everybody else’s training started when they started walking.

Not long after my grandparents return with the deliciousness that is curly fries and everybody pretends that we are just a little less broken than we really are and for a few hours, it feels like at least this part of my life might actually turn out descent in the end.

 

* * *

 

Sitting in my room, I stare at my wall of weird as Scott calls it. With the deadline hanging over my head, I want to break something, because I still can’t see the whole picture. I can see all the pieces but for some reason they don’t fit together.  Something is missing but I just don’t know what.

For the second time today, I almost punch Derek for being a sneaky wolf. I really thought we had progressed past him climbing through my window, but apparently, he still doesn’t understand that my dad actually likes having him around as some sort of bodyguard.

“You do realize we have a front door _and_ a back door.”

“All the lights were out besides in here, I didn’t want to wake up your dad. How did the infamous family dinner go tonight?”

“I would rather have spent my time investigating after everything that happened, but my parents did _not_ appreciate my work morale.”

“Well, I think, it is good for you to do something else for a few hours.”

He kisses me almost apologetic like he is afraid his words will end in another fight. I guess I can’t blame him considering how emotional I have been the last twenty-four hours, but it still feels wrong. I love the snarky sarcastic side of Derek, I just haven’t been seeing too much of him lately.

“You know I am afraid you will have to suffer through the next dinner with me. My family wants me to _present_ you at the next time.”

Even before all the words have left my mouth, Derek looks like he would rather walk through fire than have to sit through one of those dinners.

“Do you really want me to come to this thing?”

The skepticism in Derek’s voice almost makes me laugh aloud, because this is the first time in months that Derek hasn’t just agreed to everything I have said and it feels great. This feels like such a huge step forward that it is ridiculous.

“You know this is the first time you haven’t just agreed with me on something in months.”

“I disagreed with you on things…”

“Whatever, I am just happy that you are back to your usual grumpy self, because I honestly like this version a lot better.”

I can hear my phone alerting me that someone is trying to reach me, but kissing Derek feels to damn good to stop right now. For once, he doesn’t hold back and it doesn’t take long before my hormone-crazed body is more than ready to take this further even though I know sex is not where this is heading until Derek gives me the greenlight.

“I heard you early, when you said I need to deal with my guilt and seeing how Scott handles his guilt made me realize that he could handle my own better. I want to do something good with my life.”

While Derek talks I reach for my phone and I can feel my stomach dropping when I read the text from Scott. I really hoped everything would be back to normal between the two of them.

“What is wrong?”

“Allison and Scott has been fighting over the whole Scott being my guardian thing, because she wants him to stay safe, but Scott tried to explain how he feels tonight and she hasn’t been as understanding as he hoped. He thinks he helped her come to terms with it, but it is not good.”

“I guess I can understand where she is coming from.”

“Then please explain because I am not sure I do.”

“Allison has been fighting the hunter and skinwalker aspect of her life ever since she found out. She doesn’t like her family history and she doesn’t want to be a part of it, so she is probably scared she is losing Scott, because he is becoming more and more involved. Being your skinwalker is just a little part of the underlying problem.”

I pretty sure I am looking at Derek like he has two heads right now, because that might just be the most insightful thing I have heard out of Derek in all the time I have known him. Considering, he is the most in touch with his skinwalker nature and history, so I am guessing it is not from self-insight that he gathered this information.

“How do you know this?”

“I might have been texting Allison, since we went on the double date months ago.”

“You have been texting Allison?”

“Yes, whenever Allison has questions she doesn’t feel comfortable asking her parents, she comes to me or texts me. I am just being supportive.”

“Okay, I did not see that one coming, but hey, it is great that you are helping her out.”

Derek looks surprised like he expected some sort of fight, which I am not following. He is being nice helping a teenage girl who is in a weird situation where her parents kept a horrible part of her family history from him where they kill people like her current boyfriend who is now putting his life in danger from being killed by people like her ancestors. Maybe the whole thing with Allison being uncomfortable with Scott being my guardian is more understandable than I thought.

“I guess you wouldn’t mind another double date then.”

“As long as nobody ends up in the hospital this time I am in.”

Then the kissing begins again and my minds quiets down. It feels so good to forget everything for a couple of hours while making out with my insanely hot boyfriend.

 


	13. The One With the Riddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for not posting last weekend, but life caught up to me and so did my lack of sleep. Here is the next chapter though and I hope you like it. There is only two chapters left of this one, but I am considering doing a final 4th part of the story where I tie things up in a pretty bow, but I will see what happens. 
> 
> Please keep leaving comments and kudos, they really do make my day <3  
> Stay safe you lovely, lovely people

The next afternoon, I am sitting with the messages lined up in front of me on the floor and all I can think about is Jamie in the hospital bed more vulnerable than I have ever seen him. I want to scream and punch the wall, because Jamie figured it out and I can’t shake the feeling that I should too. I should have figured it out by now.

The slight knock on the door pulls me out of it and looking up I see Jackson and Danny standing in the doorway, holding hands and looking happier than I ever thought they could be. It hits me; I can’t breathe for a second. Hiding the notes is a little hard with them standing there and I doubt either of them is going to accept one of my excuses. I am going to have to tell them everything.

“Stiles, when was the last time you ate?”

“This morning, Derek made me something before he left…”

“It is almost 5pm; you must have been at this for hours by now.”

“Jackson is right, Stiles. Why don’t I make us something to eat while Jackson tries to get some water in you? We can’t have you passing out on us.”

I nod and Danny disappears downstairs to the kitchen. Jackson hurries over and helps me up, while I realize that the whole passing out thing might not be as ridiculous as it sounded. My head is spinning and my breathing is all ragged, I am obviously dehydrated and the water Jackson brings me tastes like heaven even though I am pretty sure it is just regular tap water.

“How are you doing?”

“I am pretty sure I am supposed to ask you that considering we just found you five seconds from passing out in the middle of your room in front of… _that_.”

“How is Danny doing?”

“He is a natural like always. He is handling the whole skinwalker thing surprisingly well.”

“And why don’t you sound thrilled about that?”

“Is it horrible that I kind of wishes that Danny wasn’t a better skinwalker than me? I mean… he is brilliant at everything, he has been helping me with school and lacrosse for as long as we have been friends and I kind of wanted this to be something I could help him with…”

“Jackson, I get it.”

Jackson looks relieved and I can’t help running my hands through his hair. It always seems to calm him down even if he frantically tries to restyle it afterwards. Five minutes later, Danny rejoins us with the most delicious looking sandwiches and while I devour them, Danny looks over the letters.

“You know if we look at the letters word by word we could probably learn a lot about whoever send you those. How people write and their wording can tell you a lot about them.”

“Are you seriously suggesting analyzing these like we do in English Lit?”

“If we create a system, we can probably figure something out. It is worth a try, right?”

For some reason, I have always known Danny is brilliant, he is one of the smartest people in our year, but I feel like I am seeing how his mind really works for the first time. Watching him transform one of my walls into a huge dashboard with the letters and everything, we know so far, it is overwhelming. His analytical abilities are out of this world.

 

* * *

 

After the first forty-five minutes, Jackson stormed out mumbling something about doing something useful with his time. It might have something to do with how Danny and I spend thirty of those forty-five minutes discussing how to organize the information. Theoretically, this might be connected to why Scott manages to surprise both of us, when we find him standing in my bedroom doorway looking disturbed at our newest creation.

“Jesus, Scottie, you scared me!”

“You haven’t answered any of my texts all day, so I wanted to stop by and check up on you, but I don’t even want to know what the whole wall of weird thing is about.”

“Oh, you make my heart swell with pride, your first proper Smallville reference.”

Scott rolls his eyes, but neither of us can’t stop smiling. Smallville is one of the few TV-shows I could get Scott to watch with me growing up. Scott has always been a sucker for a good origin story and even if he would never admit it, he had the biggest crush on Kristin Kreuk growing up.

“Well I know you always had a slight fantasy of being the Chloe Sullivan to your own Clark Kent, well except Chloe doesn’t end up with Oliver Queen in your fantasy.”

“Oh don’t you dare get me started, Scott! Nevertheless, I have to admit that I have warmed up to the idea of Chloe and Oliver in the end, but it is mostly, because Erica Durance created the challenge Clark needed. You ever watch Smallville, Danny?”

“Oh, I will not discuss _that_ TV-show with you, Stiles, but if you want to discuss the actual story, meaning the comics, I will be more than willing.”

“I actually tried to convince Scott to read them, but I had to settle for the TV-show, but it really grows on you after a couple of seasons. I have always had a thing for Clark Kent.”

This is when Derek and Jackson walk into the room, while Jackson sends a confused looking Derek a looking saying ‘don’t-even-get-me-started-on-this’. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to see my incredibly hot boyfriend, but I might be happier to see the dinner he is carrying because Danny’s sandwiches were delicious but I am still starving.

“You are a lifesaver!”

It turns out to be my grandma’s burgers and I can already feel my mouth watering from the smell. Danny seems to be in a similar situation, so neither of us notice Derek studying the wall of weird with a strange academic interest I haven’t seen before.

“The reference to chess could indicate that the sender sees the whole thing as a game of intellect between the two of you, daring you to outsmart the person before they fulfill their threats. All the threats towards your loved ones reference suicide: the hanging from trees and cutting Jamie’s lifeline. This could indicate an above average intellect. Then there is the choice of the word ‘forced’ in ‘forced to repay’ as if this person doesn’t want to do these things, and how the sender refuses being a monster and creating a link to the word wolf, indicating that this person connects the word wolf with monster. This could be because of their family’s negative attitude towards skinwalkers or because this person had a bad experience with skinwalkers growing up. Then there is the part about wanting your heart, indicating that they want to inflict emotional pain as much as physical, meaning it might be more personal than we originally thought.”

“Derek, where is this coming from?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know I love you, but how do you know all these things?”

“I took different criminology courses during college.”

“Well, you might consider asking my dad for a job.”

“Stiles is right, Derek. You got more out of this in five minutes than I have all day.”

Throughout the whole conversation, Jackson has moved closer and closer to Danny and now he is practically sitting on top of him. I am not sure what is prompting his behavior; I mean Jackson looks strangely uncomfortable with his own behavior but at the same time, he can’t stop.

“Jackson, why don’t you help me get drinks for everybody while Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson over there continue discussing their latest findings?”

Jackson follows but he keeps turn around to look back at Danny as if he has separation anxiety. I drag him down the stairs and turn on the faucet to prevent the boyfriends from listening in on us.

“Jackson, what is happening?”

“I don’t know! Okay! Ever since I left earlier, I feel all … paranoid and shit. I mean it is great not to have any secrets, but ever since he became a skinwalker I have all these different impulses and being away from him for thirty minutes made them all go haywire. I don’t understand any of it and if I am honest I am kind of jealous of Boyd and the Blackwater family, because he has someone to explain all these … instincts and _emotions._ ”

“Jackson, Danny just turned into a skinwalker and you thought you might lose him. I am even guessing you haven’t left his side since then, so of course you are going to freak out after leaving him for the first time since then.”

I force Jackson into a hug, because he starts shaking and he might not understand his need for physical contact but that doesn’t mean he needs it any less. Jackson has just calmed down, when the door opens and Boyd, Erica, Isaac, and Kaya step through it.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

“Deaton said everybody was here so we figured we might join you, see if we can help.”

“You are welcome to try, Boyd, but apparently Derek is a regular Sherlock Holmes.”

Erica snickers, while the other three look completely freaked out by the comment. They seriously need to be thoroughly educated in the universe of modern television, if they don’t understand the wonder that is a Sherlock reference. Benedict Cumberbatch is the man!

Boyd and Erica don’t bother looking at the wall; instead, they make themselves comfortable in my bed reminding me how tired I am getting. Isaac and Kaya on the other hand look different kinds of fascinating. When Kaya looks more and more upset, I take her hand to get her attention.

“What is wrong?”

“I am not sure, but some of it reminds me of everything that happened with my family. The memories… they put me on edge.”

“Do you want to leave?”

“No, I want to help. You have done so much for my family, Stiles. I am not sure you understand how much it means that you stepped up the way you did, because it might be Derek’s name but the entire community knows the Aleksy family is back. It gives us hope.”

Hearing Kaya say those words makes me want to hug her and never let go. Theoretically, I know how much my family’s name means to the skinwalker community and how much fear it brings along in the hunter community, but hearing those words… it cements it somehow.

“They keep calling you a child, Stiles.”

“Isaac, what do you mean?”

“Well, in the second note they refer to you as little Aleksy son and little one and in the fourth note they call you little boy of mine. Then in the second note, they unconsciously refer to you as a lamb, which is a child in its own way. Maybe they are older than you are. Then there is the Lady Friday reference, which is the goddess of war and death in Norse mythology. The Lady Friday reference might also mean that whoever is sending you these is a woman; I mean I doubt a man would refer to himself as a Goddess instead of for example Ares or Mars, the Greek and Roman Gods of war.”

“What is up with everybody suddenly being all master crime solver?”

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean…

“No! I am impressed! You did really well, Isaac.”

It feels like all my friends have made progress in a few minutes than I have since it started. Something about the line ‘Oh, be careful little one’ reminds me of something I can’t quite place. Isaac’s comment about the sender being a woman makes sense, but it feels like I am staring at a picture but the most important part is missing, only I have no idea what it is.

Then it hits me like a punch in the stomach, because suddenly it is all so obvious that it is painful. Everything fits perfectly and I can still hear her say those words, those exact words taunting me.

“We need to call everybody over.”

“Stiles, what is happening?”

“I figured it out that is what is happening. Now start calling.”

 

* * *

 

Having everybody in front of me down in the living room feels daunting. Everything fits but I don’t have anything but circumstantial evidence to make my case, so I am pretty sure none of them will like my plan to lure out the psychopath.

“I am going to take you through the whole thing, but please be patient with me. Derek mentioned that the chess reference could indicate that this is a game of intellect to the sender, daring me to outsmart this person before they make good on their threats. This person clearly sees me as someone who needs to learn, a child overstepping into the world of the adults, referring to me as little Aleksy, little one and little boy. As Isaac mentioned, the sender is a woman, because she chose the Lady Friday reference when she could have easily chosen Ares or Mars. She also creates a link between the words wolf and monster, indicating a more personal form of hatred towards skinwalkers than the negative fraction of the Council of Hunters usually express.”

“This doesn’t exactly tell us who is trying to kill you, son.”

“I am coming to it. Isaac, what is the name of the Norse Goddess of war?”

“Freya, why?”

“Bloody hell, she put a reference to her own freaking name in there!”

“What are you talking about, Derek?”

“Deaton, it is _Freya Wolf_.”

Shock settles over the entire group. Despite their name, the Wolf family is one of the more negative members of the Council, but they are never obvious about their hatred. They always express it in underhanded comments or behind the scenes games, but I am still not sure why they would want to hurt me specifically. I have a feeling it might be connected to something Claudia isn’t telling me, but I doubt she would react well to me calling her out on it now.

“When did you realize it was her?”

“The line ‘oh, be careful little one’, she said the exact same thing to me during one of the Council meetings. I never thought more of it, until I remembered it today and then everything fit. I mean, there are still some things I still don’t understand… she describes that she wants my heart, indicating that she wants me to experience emotional pain more than physical pain indicating a more personal reason than we originally thought. We barely interacted, so I am not sure what I have done.”

“What is your plan? I mean you clearly have one or you wouldn’t have called us all together.”

“Claudia…”

“No, she is right, dad. I doubt the Council will punish Freya without solid evidence since half of them secretly supports her cause and we have no evidence except this. The vote she wants me to throw is tomorrow and I am going to use it to lure her out.”

“What! This is suicide, Stiles!”

“Your father is right, Stiles. We are not going to let you use yourself as bait to catch her, there has to be a better plan than throwing you to the wolves.

“Deaton, we don’t have time. We need to react now unless we want the vote to fall through and god knows when we will get another chance to enforce this. The vote would mean everything in terms of protection for skinwalkers and secure a fairer trail in case anything happens. Besides, I won’t go in unprotected, I will have Scott with me at all times and since Jamie was attacked, the council agreed to make a special exception and allow Chris Argent to be my temporary adviser until Jamie is recovered, so he will be there too. We will try to control the situation as much as we can but still recover the information we need to get this psychopath.”

Everybody seems ready to tell me that I am bordering suicidal for wanting to do this, but they all know me well enough to know that I will do it with or without them, so their best chance of me making it out alive is supporting my plan.

“If we wants this to work, Freya Wolf needs to think she has the upper hand, because it will be the only way we can make her admit the whole thing. If she thinks, she has gotten away with it, her narcissism will kick and she will want to boast about her superior intellect. She will want to prove to Stiles that she won; that she out smarted him.”

“As much as I agree with Derek, I don’t like the idea. Too much can go wrong with this.”

“I only have one question for you Stiles.”

“What is it Jackson?”

“Do you think you can make it work?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then I will support you. You have saved our asses enough times for us to give you a little bit of faith, but I will not let Danny anywhere near the Council. They don’t know about him.”

“Jackson, you are not keeping me out of this!”

As soon as Danny has said it, Jackson is standing in front of him actually snarling at him. It is bizarre watching Jackson looking ready to rip Danny’s head of for suggesting putting himself in danger, but considering his protective behavior early, it sort of makes sense.

“I am not risking your safety right now; you have only been a skinwalker for a few days!”

“I am sorry Danny, but I agree with Jackson. Besides, you will be more helpful from a distance with the technical aspect of things anyway.”

My comment seems to placate Danny, meaning Jackson finally stops snarling. My parents look about ready to lock me in the basement and never let me out, but I am not sure they could find a basement that could hold me at this point.

“I am not going to convince you to change your mind, am I?”

“I am sorry, dad, but I need to do this.”

“Alright, I guess we better start planning. We have under 24hours to pull this off.”

It is heartwarming to see everybody helping the best they can with different aspects of the plan and as much as I want to keep my friends out of it, I know I need their help if I want to pull it off. In the end, I am going to be the one in danger, but as I said, it is something I need to do.

 

* * *

 

Hours later, Derek and I are both pretending to be asleep even if we both know neither of us are going to sleep tonight. Adrenalin is flowing through my body forcing me on high alert and Derek is probably suffering through the same thing.

“Are you sure, you want to do this?”

“Derek, what would you do if the situation was reversed? Freya almost murdered Jamie and she has no problem finishing the job if I don’t follow through. At this point, I don’t know whom Freya is going to attack next and I am not willing to risk anybody losing his or her lives because of me when I can do something to prevent it.”

Derek clearly scowls behind me and when he tightens his hold around me, I know he agrees with me, he just doesn’t want to admit it because he doesn’t like me putting myself in danger. I don’t like putting myself in danger either, but I am not going to let anybody die because of me.

“I would probably do the same thing, but it doesn’t mean I like the situation. I don’t want you in danger and every single instinct of mine is screaming for me to get you the hell away from the entire situation. You pretty lucky I haven’t dragged you off to some secluded cave right now.”

“I will praise myself lucky.”

“Cocky bastard.”

“I love you too.”

Derek kisses the nape of my neck holding me tight as if he wants to make sure I am real. I wish we could stay in this bed forever in this moment and that tomorrow didn’t have to happen, but we both know we have responsibilities to protect the people around us. Even if disappearing into this moment doesn’t sound all that bad right now.


	14. The Confrontation with Lady Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for posting so late, I really thought I would be able to go back to posting weekly again for last few chapters, but everything about my mother being sick sort of hit me last weekend, so I had to take a break from everything to take care of myself. But here is the last real chapter with the revealation and confrontation and everything. I hope you enjoy and I can't believe there is actually just the epilogue left now. 
> 
> Please keep leaving comments and kudos <3  
> I love you lovely, lovely people out there :D

Waking up the next morning, my body feels like it is made of lead and at the same time, it is too hot, but that might be connected to the gorgeous skinwalker furnace sleeping in my bed. Most days, Derek has left before I even consider waking up, so I rarely get to see Derek sleeping. It is strange seeing his face without the usual scowl and the worry lines, he looks so much younger this way. He actually looks like a twenty-three year old.

As he can feel me watching him (which he probably can), Derek wakes up and I get an intense need to say aw, because Derek waking up might honestly be the cutest thing in the entire world. I am like seriously regretting not filming this, because this can rival pandas sneezing.

“Morning.”

“Morning. Your parents are down stairs.”

For a second, I don’t even hear what he is saying, but then it hits me; _parents_. As in plural, more than one parent. How the hell did both of my parents end up in our kitchen at the same time?

“Did you just use the world parent in plural?”

“Yes, Claudia is…”

“She is here? Are they tearing each other’s heads off?”

“No, it seems that they are making breakfast.”

My still sleepy brain can’t process any of this information because it honestly feels like I have ended up in some sort of strange alternative universe. I am not even sure I want to know why they are in the same room, because I am pretty sure it involves lecturing me about something and it might have something to do with the whole Stiles-risking-his-life thing happening today. Thinking about it, maybe it isn’t so weird that they agree on something for a change.

“Do you want to go down and face them?”

“Do I look like I want to go down and get lecture by my parents?”

“No, but they won’t go away.”

“I _know_!”

Eventually, I manage to get dressed and move downstairs where my dad and Claudia are waiting for me with breakfast covering every surface in the kitchen. We already talked about it and agreed that would leave, because he doesn’t need to watch the train wreck that is my family.

“This is a family thing, so I will see you later.”

“Chris texted you the time, right?”

“Yes, Stiles, I will be here.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Watching Derek leave, I can feel my body tensing up, because it knows what comes next. Last night my parents looked about ready to lock me in the basement and never let me see an ounce of daylight again, but now they just look tired and terrified and I am not sure what I like better.

“Stiles, we need to talk about the risk you are putting yourself in today.”

“Your mother is right, Stiles. We are both terrified of losing you if this thing goes wrong and we all know there is a good chance that it will. Do you understand what you are asking of us?”

“I understand, dad, I would be terrified if it was you, Claudia or any of my friends, but I need to do this. I am not sure if it is the Aleksy part of me or if it is just me, but I need to know I have done everything I can or I am going to hate myself for it later. Jamie and all those skinwalker families… they deserve my best effort, even if it means putting myself in danger.”

My dad pushes a bagel towards me already smeared and it feels strangely nice to have breakfast with both my dad and Claudia. The child in my always dreamed of having my family back like this, but at the same time, I know things are far from good between them.

“You know, it is nice seeing you actually agreeing on something for a change.”

“What do you mean son?”

“I have missed you and Claudia not fighting every five minutes, because you might never love each other the same way again and I am not sure I want you back together, but I would prefer it if you didn’t hate each other’s guts.”

Neither of them comments on it, but seeing them sitting here, it settles something inside of me, because if they can agree on something, then maybe I can pull this off.

 

* * *

 

The ride to the compound might be the most awkward in the history of car rides. It is obvious all anybody can thing about is what can happen if our plan fails and it crosses my mind once or twice, because I am not the only one putting my life on the line. Chris, Scott and Derek will be coming with me into the Council meeting and their lives will be just as much in danger as mind.

Seeing my dad, Claudia, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, Kaya, Jackson, Deaton, and Danny coming out of the other cars, makes it feel absolute somehow. Everybody else thinks my friends are here, because they want to support me with the upcoming vote, but in reality, they are here as backup if it actually ends up becoming a fight. I am hoping it won’t be necessary, but I am glad they are here if it does

“Stiles, you need to calm down.”

“That is easy for you to say, you are not risking everybody’s lives!”

“You aren’t risking anybody’s lives, everybody is here because they believe in you and you know what? I believe in you too. I believe in you more than I believe in anything else in my life; I believe you can actually change this screwed up world Stiles Stilinski.”

Hearing Derek saying those walks calms me down just slightly, because if someone as good as Derek can believe in my screwed up plan, then maybe it is not that screwed up after all. The doors to the Council room opens and Derek and Scott step through the doors with me. Chris steps out of another room to my right and having him here calms me a little more.

Bruno Calavera stands up after everybody else is settled and as much as the man confuses me and as much as I disagree with him sometimes, I can’t argue with the sense of authority he exudes. This man is a natural born leader and I really hope I have him on my side after today.

“Welcome Council members. We have suffered a devastating blow the last week, when someone attacked Jamie Campbell. He is still in hospital, so I allowed Chris Argent to step in as Stiles’ advisor until Jamie Campbell is ready to resume the job. Due to the same circumstances, we agreed to let him vote to prevent two empty seats on the council for today’s votes. Does anybody object?”

I look around and every member of the negative fraction looks a little too pleased with Chris’ acceptance on the Council. If they only knew, he had changed sides. I want to laugh in their faces, but I know I need to keep up pretenses if we want to pull this off.

“Alright. The first proposal is for the procedural changes proposal by Stiles Stilinski, member of the Aleksy family. Will you please summarize your proposal to the Council?”

“This Council exists to protect Hunters and to prevent rogue skinwalkers from harming innocent people, but it also exists to protect the rights of innocent Skinwalkers. Only, history has clearly proven that this Council has a tendency to prevent proper punishment of other Hunters in order to protect the reputation of the Council. Other times, we have lacked the laws supporting a proper punishment, leaving us no choice but to let perpetrators walk freely. My proposal will make it easier to punish those who attack skinwalker without a valid reason and investigate cases of doubt. If this proposal is accepting, it will also show the good will of the Council towards the skinwalker community; it will show them we do _not_ accept murderers among us. I encourage you to vote for this proposal, to show the world we step out of our own shadow, because really, it is a question of tact.”

The vote begins and those few minutes feels like an eternity. We already decided what my vote had to be before coming here, but sitting here it doesn’t sit right with me. It is such bet, but in the end, I follow the plan. I need to believe in the plan or this will never work. Bruno Calavera collects the small pieces of paper and then the tally begins. Bruno Calavera count one vote after the other and with two votes left, there are both four for and four against my proposal.

The next vote is blank, which sends shock waves through the entire room, because it means everything rides on this last piece of paper. It feels strange having the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people riding on one piece of insignificant paper. The quiet is deafening.

“The last vote is… for the proposal.”

“NO!”

The relief going through me is interrupted by Freya Wolf screaming before I have time to really think about what comes next. She looks utterly furious and then her entire attention is directly at me and the expression in her eyes sends chills through my body.

“YOU! You are going to regret this!”

“Ms. Wolf, I am sorry you are dissatisfied with the vote, but I will have you know I am the owner of the blank vote. You see, I wanted to prove that this Council holds more potential than any of you realize and it doesn’t need me to make the right decision…”

Before I have a chance to continue, I feel a wave of magic coming through the air and I only just manage to block it with milliseconds standing between me and the stonewalls behind me. The chills I felt earlier intensify, because neither of us expected Freya to control magic and from the expression on the other Council members, neither of them knew either.

“I am sick and tired of this Council and its weak disposition towards skinwalkers. You can argue all you want, but neither of you will do what needs to be done! We need a cleansing. We need to exterminate our little pest problem.”

“Freya, you are insane!”

Oh No, Noshiko Yukimura, I am the only one who sees the world clearly. I am the only one who can do what needs to be done and I can prepared.”

Before either of us has a chance to react, we can all hear the doors locking behind us and we all know what that means. None of us can leave the room and Freya Wolf is ready to kill us all.

Freya’s magic pretty much takes up all the air in the room and for a second I consider the fact that she might want to asphyxiate us with it, but then I realize her magic feels completely different from my own Spark, meaning I might be able to defuse the situation before anything happens. Only, I need time to for my Spark to search the room for whatever it is she is coming to use to kill us all, which means I have to stall; I have to keep her talking.

“I see my Spark isn’t the only magic in the room.”

“Oh, dear Stiles, your magic doesn’t compare to mine. Magic runs in the Wolf family the same it does the Aleksy, only we chose to hide our abilities, to bide our time instead of flaunting it and drawing attention to ourselves. Wars are won behind the scenes, Aleksy.”

My heartbeats speeds up when I realize what magic found seconds before. It felt strangely familiar and suddenly I know why; the objects remind me of the bombs she used to attack Scott and I weeks early. Freya has placed several bombs around the room in different locations making it impossible for anybody to disarm all of them at the same time.

“Does bomb making run in your family too?”

“Oh, the little boy figured it out. Magic might run in my mother’s family, but my father has a disposition for explosives, and when he realized my magic allows me to detonate it from safe distances, he started passing on his favorite hobby to me; blowing up skinwalkers.”

“And how many have you killed over the years?”

“Oh, I have killed _hundreds_ without raising the slightest suspicion. The Council never knew.”

“You sound angry?”

“Well, it is just another reason why we need a cleansing. We need to build a stronger Council with members who understands what needs to be done.”

It hits me that she doesn’t plan to leave the room before the bombs blows up, meaning she will be in the blast zone as well. How does she plan to survive the ten bombs blowing up?

“How do you plan to survive, because you must be in the blast zone just like the rest of us?”

The smile that forms on her face after I have asked my question is pure evil. She has absolutely no problem with killing all the Council members and their guardians. She doesn’t care about the families left behind to mourn their loved ones or the consequences of her actions.

A plan starts forming in my head, but I still need more time. My Spark sends larger amounts of mountain ash out into the room infusion it into the bombs spread around the room, hoping I can cut the connections to all of them at the same time to prevent them from blowing up. Theoretically, I should be able to cut the connection in all of them at the same time, since I will be controlling everything preventing reacting time from influences the result.

“Oh, Stiles, do you really think I will be revealing all my secrets? I will tell you I have planted ten bombs around the room, one for every Council member in the room. Even you won’t be able to disarm all of them in time, even if you are an _Aleksy._ ”

 _Ten?_ The panic sets in, because I can only sense nine, meaning I still need to find one or I risk all our lives. I send more mountain ash, but I feel like I am running against a wall, because I can sense absolutely nothing except the nine I have already found.

Scott seems to have noticed my fidgeting and the almost invisible amounts of mountain ash seeping out from different compartments in my clothes. He must have realized what I am doing because he starts looking around the room following the different traces of my mountain ash, since his skinwalker nature allows him to sense it differently than ordinary humans.

“You are running out of time Stiles. I am deeply disappointed in you; I really expected more of a fight from one of the infamous Aleksy. Tic-Toc, Stiles. Only seconds to go.”

“Stiles!”

Scott points towards one of the air vents in the ceiling and the minuscule flashing red light. I send a large amount of mountain ash towards the bomb, but I realize I won’t be able to disarm it with the rest of the bombs so instead of infusing the bomb with mountain ash, I hurry to create a thick shell of mountain ash around the bomb instead, hoping it will keep us safe.

Like a miracle, the mountain ash manages to shield us from most of the blast, but pieces of the ceiling and air vent comes crashing down among around us. From the screaming, Freya appears furious I managed to prevent her plan from coming to life, but the rubble also creates enough of a distraction for her to run. Before I even have time think, I run after her and Scott is right behind me. I can sense Derek behind us with the rest of our friends following him.

I only have one thought going through my mind as we run - I need to stop her!

* * *

 

Before we catch up to Freya, we have left the compound and we find ourselves in a small clearing not far from it. She has nowhere to run except from the woods and we will find her if she tries to run. The skinwalkers are far better trackers than anything she can outrun even with her magic.

“Freya! It is over!

Despite being corner, she looks strangely calm and I can’t shake the feeling that this fight isn’t over yet. At the same time, it feels like a strange déjà vu standing in the woods, knowing I will have to fight for my life and the lives of the people I love.

“Why couldn’t you do as I asked? Now I have to Scott and the rest of your little friends. You know, I will make you watch them bleed, watch the life leave their bodies and then I will kill you slowly. Oh, I am going to enjoy this.”

“Freya, you are outnumber and I will never allow you to hurt anybody else.”

Her laugh cuts through bones and the ground starts shaking like a mini earthquake. A strange sensation runs through me as I realize Freya might only have shown an ounce of her strength so far and she is about to unleash the whole thing on us.

“Oh, be careful whom you underestimates… it might get you killed, _Aleksy_.”

There it is again. Everything about the notes screams personal and now the way she says Aleksy makes my blood run cold. Freya hates my family deeply, but I have no idea what we have done to warrant her hatred or her apparent need to destroy us all.

“Why do you hate my family this much?”

“Oh, your mother hasn’t told you?”

“My mother? What does my mother have to do with this?”

“My mother is dead because of Claudia Aleksy!”

“What...”

“Claudia Aleksy and my mother knew each other years ago; they used to be friends, but Claudia betrayed her and it ended with my mother hanging herself from a tree in our backyard. If your mother had shown an ounce of support for her supposed friend my mother would still be alive. I want you to experience the pain of watching your loved one hanging lifeless from the branch of a tree, the hopelessness that devours you whole. Maybe I just let your mother watch too.”

In the moment, I realize Freya Wolf is no more than a scared kid trying to make things right for the sake of her mother. Losing somebody you love can drive anybody insane, only with Freya it became an obsessions leading to the deaths of hundreds of innocents people.

The screaming leaving Freya’s body as she sends a shockwave of magic through the ground causing spears of rock to form underneath both Scott’s and I’s feet with only Scott’s reflexes and my Spark to save our asses. It quickly becomes a direct battle between my Spark and her Magic with her creating weapons of our surroundings and me sending different projectiles against her using mountain ash. Everybody arrived not long after the battle, putting me in the disadvantage of having to protect my friends while constantly having to dodge her direct attacks.

“Scott, you need to get everybody out of here!”

“I am not leaving you, Stiles!”

The clearing is completely destroyed at this point and if I want the slightest chance of coming out of this alive, I need my friends out of here now, leaving me with little choice. I collect the rest of the mountain ash from the different compartments on my body and sends my friends flying away from the clearing and out of harm’s way.

“It is a brave attempt, Aleksy, but it is only a matter of time before they are all dead. You might as well give up now and maybe then, I will spare some of your pathetic friends. Well, the Blackwater girl will have to die, I mean, I can’t have her running around like a testament to my failure. I really should have finished that family of when I had the chance.”

“You know Freya, I might have my Spark and you might have you magic, you might even have more training than I do, but I have something you don’t. I have people I want to protect and that makes me far more powerful than anything you can imagine.”

“You still think your pathetic plan is going to work?”

“I am guessing you haven’t noticed what I have been doing during this entire battle. You actually gave me the idea with how you use your magic. During every attack I have distributed small amounts of mountain ash in ground below us, allowing me to manipulate it at will.”

“What?”

“You sound a little scared Freya…”

My reveal doesn’t allow me much time to act, so I focus all my energy on the mountain ash in the ground below Freya and pulls it up towards her, allowing me to capture Freya’s legs between rocks, probably breaking her legs in the process.

“Over the past few weeks, I have noticed that I can control things as long as I infuse them with mountain ash and then I saw you fight. My Spark and your magic might be different, but in some ways, they allow us to do the same things, so I started infusing mountain ash into the entire clearing.”

“I will destroy you!”

The same time I can feel her magic coming towards her, I have already send my comment for the ground to crush her, but the ground starts destabilizing below me and with all the damage we have done to the damn clearing the ground is going to swallow me whole.

I can feel myself losing footing as the ground disappears below me and I realize I don’t have time to call my mountain ash to me. My Spark is useless. Right when I have come to terms with my impending death, I can feel someone catching me in midair and I realize Scott has saved my ass. He drags me to safety and I have never been as thankful of my best friend as I am right now.

As soon as we are out of danger, Scott starts patting me down like he wants to make sure I haven’t managed to fight through some sort of internal damage, which I am not completely sure getting padded by a super strong skinwalker is going to help with.

“Scott, I am alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Jamie would be freaking proud of you for saving my ass.”

“You freaking did it Stiles. She is gone”

“I know; I can’t believe it.”

The next thing I know another skinwalker is holding me and I can’t say I mind. I mind even less when Derek kisses me as if his life depends on it. The relief in his eyes mirrors my own, but we actually managed to pull off the impossible.

“Don’t you ever me like that again!”

 

* * *

 

After Derek has put me down again, I realize just how exhausted I am, but my friends help me back to the compound where my parents are waiting for us with the remaining Council. As soon as, I am in reach both my parents have somehow wrapped their arms around me, forcing me into the strangely weird three person hug but I guess I can let them have this.

“Never, I mean it, never take a risk like that again, because we thought we lost you, first, when the bombs almost went off, and then second, when you ran off the psychopathic serial killer who wants to destroy you. I really thought, I had taught you better, kid.”

“Hey, I watch you do it every day.”

“Promise me you won’t take a risk like this again.”

“I will try, but with the way my life is going I am not sure I can make any promises.”

While my parents try to hug the life out of me for a second time, everybody else starts gathering around us clearly expecting me to make some sort of sense out of what just happened. I mean, I will try but it still feels like somebody else’s life to me. Bruno Calavera steps closer and patiently waits for my parents to let me go of their death grip.

“Now, Mr. Stilinski, what happened with Freya Wolf?”

“You all know I have had a threats made against myself the last weeks and we realized Ms. Wolf was the person behind them not long before today’s meeting. She has been playing an intellectual game of chess with me, daring me to outsmart her before she made good on her threats to destroy everyone I love. She referenced herself as Lady Friday referring to the Norse Goddess of War, Freya, a direct reference to her own name, when she could have easily chosen male war God like Ares or Mars. Some parts of the notes also indicated a more personal form of hatred towards skinwalkers and the Aleksy family compared to other negative minded Council members. She wanted me experience emotional pain for a previously unknown reason. What made me realize it was Freya is actually, something she said to me, during one of the meetings, ‘oh, be careful little one’. She also revealed that she is one behind the attack on the Blackwater family.”

“But why did she do it?”

“The attacks on me were because she blamed Claudia Aleksy for the death of her mother. Apparently, her mother hung herself from a tree in their backyard after a situation involving my mother. During our confrontation, I ended up killing Freya Wolf in self-defense and in the defence of my friends and loved ones. I will of course stand trial for the killing.”

“Nonsense boy, we all saw Freya Wolf today and if you hadn’t ended her life, she would have spent her entire life murdering innocent people. You did it in self-defense. Now, what is this about Claudia Aleksy being involved in Freya’s mother’s death?”

Everybody turns to Claudia who actually looks a little teary, which completely puts me off balance. She clearly cared about this woman and I realize, maybe Claudia didn’t reveal this because she never forgave herself for the death of one of her friends.

“I was friends with Freya’s mother, Sif, but during the last years of her life, my friend became more and more radical. Mr. Calavera probably remembers the incident where she killed several innocent skinwalkers and humans claiming the world needed cleansing of skinwalker blood. She proposed to expose the skinwalkers to the world forcing the dormant ones to transform and then kill them all. I couldn’t support my friend and after several failed attempts to reason with her, I turned her in to the Council who stripped Sif of her Hunter and Council member privileges. Later, I learned she killed herself shortly after and I always felt bad for not trying to help her more.”

“Is this what you have been hiding? You did nothing wrong. You tried to reason with your friend when she did something horrible and when you couldn’t, you turned her in to the right authorities so she didn’t hurt any more innocent people. The Council needs to change, Freya was right about that, but violence isn’t the answer.”

“My secret was something else. I knew about the Wolf family’s magic, it was what drew Sif and me together in the first place. I… I am proud of you, Stiles. You truly are an Aleksy.”

I hug my mother and for the first time, I can call her that without it feeling wrong or out of place. My mother has her own demons and her own secrets, but I truly believe she would never hurt anybody unless she believed she had a very good reason for it.

Everybody else starts moving around, trying to pick up the pieces after a traumatic day. Only, I have one last question I need to ask my mother before we start erasing all clues that today happened.

“Mom, why did Freya’s magic feel different from my spark? It felt heavier somehow, I am not quite sure how to explain it really.”

“Some people possess magic, but only the Aleksy possess the Spark. The short answer is that magic allows you to draw energy from your surroundings, shaping them after your wishes, while the Spark is an energy inside us; the Spark is our own energy that we infuse in different objects like mountain ash or in a more practical way. It is what makes us so powerful.”

 

* * *

 

After the worse of the rubble has been cleared and the worse potential hazards from the clearing has been stabilized, everybody sits around staring out in thin air as if they can’t believe what happened. It is strange that this is the third time in under a year I have been pushed to the brink of death and made it back, largely unharmed, but it might not stop. This might be my life from now on defending myself and my loved ones against one threat after the other, and I am not sure how I am supposed to handle that. Statistically, I know I am going to fail at some point and I am not ready to think about what that can mean for my friends or me. I am not ready to lose anybody.

Derek sits down next to me holding my hands playing with my fingers, which seems strangely normal in the middle of all the crazy. It reminds me that I have people worth fighting for and that I will do everything in my power to make sure that when I fail someone else succeeds in protecting me and the ones I love, because I don’t have to go through this alone.

“What do you want to do now?”

“I really want to say I am ready to take on the world, but I am exhausted. The whole Spark thing really takes a lot of energy out of you, you know”

“I will take your word for it.”

Then Derek kisses me the way that makes my toes curl and my teenage hormones run wild. He makes me want to climb him like a tree if I actually had the energy, but that will have to wait until we are both ready and I am not five seconds from crashing.

“Watching you fight Freya made me realize how easily you can lose everything you love and how destructive guilt and hate can be. It made me realize I need to forgive myself for what happened with Peter and… I actually think I have in some ways. I just… I just wanted you to know.”

“Thank you; I didn’t think I could be any happier but here you go proving me wrong again. I love you, Derek, so much I don’t even understand it sometimes. You are my rock and I would never have made it through the last year without you.”

“I love you too, Stiles.”


	15. The Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SORRY!!! I have been horrible for the past six months, but life is crazy and I have barely seen the outside of a hospital for the past semester, but here it is. I quite like the ending, so I hope you do to.  
> I planned on posting a fourth part of this story, but it might take a while before I begin posting it, because life is crazy and i want to fairly sure I can post it over a short amount of time and I have an exam in under a month, so it won't be now.   
> I hope everybody is good.
> 
> Love ya all <3

In the car, I am not sure what to do with myself. I try not to think too much about the future, but it is hard considering everything. The exhaustion helps though. My brain is too tired to focus on one thing for too long, so my ADHD brain goes into overload. Derek’s hand running through my hair grounds me and I can tell my boyfriend won’t be able to relax until we are home.

Suddenly, my dad’s phone rings, startling all of us. The confused expression tells me he doesn’t recognize the number, but he answers anyway.

“It is Sheriff Stilinski… Yes, I am his emergency contact…”

The silence that follows is unbearable, because I know whom they are talking about; Jamie. We were all surprised when we found out Jamie had made my dad his emergency contact, but it made sense. Jamie’s family is far too radical to trust and too far away.

When he hangs up, the entire car is filled with tension.

“He woke up, Jamie… they haven’t run all the tests yet, but it looks promising so far. They think he is going make a full recovery.”

“We need to go to the hospital.”

“I know. We will go after stopping by the house.

“No! We need to go to hospital first; Jamie deserves to know what happened. We deserves to know that he was right about Freya and that we handled her… he deserves that.”

I am not sure if it is the tone in my voice or just the exhaustion, but no one argues. My dad simply nods before driving towards the hospital. As soon as, the car stands still, I am running towards the hospital with Derek and Scott on my heels. I am not sure what to expect, because what happens to a person after something like this? Luckily, he looks like himself when I step through the doors to his room. Tired and confused, but he looks like Jamie.

“Stiles… what…”

“What do you think would happen when we found out you woke up?”

“Well, I never know what to expect when it comes to you.”

“Point taken, point taken. How are you feeling?”

“Like hell, but you don’t look too much better.”

“Yeah, well, I had a murderous psychopath to handle while you were sleeping.”

 The tension leaves Jamie’s body at my words and I know I did the right thing in coming here. This whole mess might have been my life for the past year, but it has been Jamie’s life as long as he can remember. He has never known anything else and I want him to know he isn’t doing it alone anymore. We are a team and he is part of it now.

“What happened?”

“Well, we finally solved Freya’s riddle. She tried to blackmail into voting against the proposal, but it ended up going through despite me voting blank. The Wolf bloodline apparently holds magic as well, and she had bombs placed around the entire room ready to blow up the entire Council.  It got ugly for a while, but Scott over here saved our asses by finding the last bomb. I had to fight her… apparently my mother and her mother were friends… but her mother grew radical and my mother had to turn her in and her mother ended up committing suicide… it drove her insane. I infused the ground with my mountain ash; it crush her… Scott had to save my ass again, because I forgot about an exit strategy. You would have been proud of him.”

“You are right. You should be proud of yourself Scott. I sounds like you read a difficult situation and stepped up to protect your friends. You will be a good Guardian.”

In all the years, I have known Scott I have never seen him blush this way. The red flush makes him look every bit the teenager he is. It is almost symbolic that Allison choses that moment to storm into the hospital room looking oddly out of it.

“Allison, what are you doing here?”

“My dad… he told me what happened… can we talk?”

Scott looks over at me as if asking permission and I just shrug as if to say ‘It is your decision, bro’. Eventually Scott agrees to leave for five minutes, but he clearly doesn’t like leaving my side. Derek simply snorts as they leave, clearly as amused as me by the whole situation.

“What is happening between those two?”

“Scott and Allison? They love each other, but right now, they can’t find common ground. Scott can’t make Allison understand why he needs to be my guardian, because Allison doesn’t want anything to do with her Hunter heritage due to what Gerard and Kate Argent did. She doesn’t understand Scott’s reasons and Scott understands hers, but he feels like he needs to do this.”

“Love is never easy.”

“No it is not.”

Looking over at Derek, I realize just how lucky I am that I have somebody who is willing to fight for this relationship with me even when things suck. I hate that my best friend has to struggle, but I know it needs to be his decision and he needs to do what is right for him.

Suddenly, Scott comes back with tears silently running down his cheeks and I hurry over to him. He clings to me as if I am the only thing keeping him up right and I desperately want to make everything better for my best friend, even though I know that I can’t.

“She broke up with me…”

“I am sorry, buddy.”

“She is going to France for college… she says she needs to learn more about her heritage.”

“I am not sure I am following… I thought she didn’t want anything to do with the Argent name.”

“After everything that happened today and the Council reinstating the Argent seat, she feels like she needs to know more about all of this.”

It pains me to admit that her reasoning for leaving makes sense. If Chris told her about what happened today, she knows the Hunter community is on the verge of a time of change and the Argent family is a huge part of that change. Chris standing by the Aleksy today cemented that change in the minds of all those Hunters present and Allison probably wants to be a part of that change; she wants to make amends for what her grandfather and aunt did.

“But why does she need to break things off with you right now. College is months away.”

“Allison doesn’t want to do the long distance thing and she doesn’t feel that we should be together when we are only going to break up…”

“And how do you feel about it?”

“I loved her… but I feel like I saw it coming. It might not have been for the reasons I expected, but it still happened.”

“I am sorry for dragging you into all of this.”

“Dude, you realize I pretty much dragged you into this, right? Besides, we will be okay. We are Stiles and Scott; we are always all right, in the end.”

 

* * *

 

Scott drives Derek and I back to my place. The driveway is filled with cars and I am guessing all my friends are going to be inside. It is strange thinking that a little over a year ago, I felt completely alone in the world and now I have an entire house filled with people.

Inside Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Jackson and Danny are sitting in the living room while my dad, my mother, Deaton, Chris Argent and Ms. Davis are in the kitchen making dinner. It is strange watching Chris noticing us and pulling Scott aside with worry in his eyes before we even stepped through the door. Scott looks surprised and happy by whatever Chris is telling him, so I figure Scott will tell me whatever that is about if he wants me to know.

Instead, Jackson makes room for me on the couch, where he rests his head against my shoulder and Derek sits down by my feet. Nobody says anything before Scott comes over.

“What did Chris want?”

“Allison broke up with me… she is moving to France for college and Chris just wanted to make sure I was all right. Apparently, he sees me as a friend after everything that happened.”

It is strange, but I can’t help noticing Isaac reacting strangely to the news. His back straightens as if he tries to keep his body language neutral enough to hide something. I remind myself to talk to Isaac about it later, but for now, I focus on my best friends.

“Danny, what is going to happen if we get into our top schools? Berkeley and Columbia aren’t exactly on the same cost.”

“Jackson, did you get into Berkeley?”

“I am not answering that question on principle. You need to answer the question.”

 “Well, it isn’t going to be a problem, because I applied to Stanford. It is only an hour drive.”

Jackson looks so adorable surprised, I can’t stop myself from laughing. It shocks Jackson out of his stupor and eventually he smiles at me. He pushes me down from the couch into Derek’s lap, but it doesn’t really help with the laughing.

“Are you serious?”

“I considered applying to Cal Tech, but it is still 7 hours from Berkeley and I knew I would be miserable so far away from you, so I applied to Stanford without telling anybody. They have one of the best computer science programs in the world and it is right next to Silicon Valley, so it is really an ideal choice everything considered.”

“You would really do something like that for me?”

“You would do it for me no questions asks. Besides, I would miss the rest of these crazy people too much if I was on the other side of the country.”

Everybody in the room agrees and I can tell how much Derek enjoys have all the others around. He hasn’t had a pack for years and now he has all these unruly teenagers to teach and it suits him. Jackson is so much more at each with himself and Erica, Boyd and Isaac all have so much more confident than they had only a few months ago. We are growing together.

“Stiles?”

“Yes, Jackson.”

“We still need to tell Lydia about the whole skinwalker business.”

“Did you forget?”

“Everything with Danny sort of made me lose focus.”

“Well, we will have plenty of time for that. She texted me last night that she will be attending Stanford next year. She is quite excited.”

I am not sure what did it, but suddenly, Scott looks like someone kicked his puppy. Everybody else looks hilariously uncomfortable with his expression, but I am way too used to it. 

“But you want to go there and they never take more than two students from a school as small as Beacon Hills High School…”

“Why are you worried about this?”

“Well, I might have applied to Stanford because I wanted to be close to you with the whole Guardian Business. I mean it is hard to protect you while being thousands of miles away.”

“Are you kidding me?! Why would you put aside _your dream_ of studying at Davis for me?”

Scott clearly didn’t expect me to be this furious with him, but I don’t give a shit, because how dare he? I know how hard he worked to make Davis a possibility and now he is just going to forget about the whole thing because of some notion that he needs to be around me 24/7.

“Dreams change and right now I need to be with you. I mean, I can always change schools for my masters and Stanford has a great program.”

“Stiles?”

“Yes, Isaac, what is it?”

“You never seemed sad about not getting in… with Danny, Scott and Lydia applying.”

“Because they must have made an exception, because I was accepted too.”

Derek punches me and I realize I forgot to tell me I received the letter this morning with everything that happened. It hits me that I even forgot to tell my dad who is going to be even more furious for not being the first one to know and I have no idea how my mother is going to react let alone all my dutiful teachers. I probably should steel myself for some lectures in my future.

“Boyd and I were both accepted into UCSF.”

“You do realize we are going to be ridiculously close to each other?”

Scott looks so excited at the prospect of the entire group attending colleges so close to each other and I have to admit that it makes the whole thought of leaving home more bearable. I notice Isaac looking smaller than usual and I remember he wanted a gap year, meaning he is going to be the only one staying behind. Well, except Derek, but we still haven’t talked about all this yet and I am not sure I am going to be ready to face that beehive anytime soon.

“What about you Isaac? Did you change your mind about applying?”

“Nah, but I might move with you… I think I need a year to find myself and figure it out before I decide what I want to do with my life.”

“You know, you are probably the smartest out of all of us. I doubt University is going to be easier.”

“Does anybody have any plans for the summer?”

“Jackson, how do come from university is hard to what do you want to do this summer?”

“Well, if university is going to be as hard as people say, I am sure as hell going to enjoy my last summer before I leave for it.”

It makes sense, I guess, but it doesn’t take long before everybody is engaged in a lively discussion about what we are going to do for the summer, because apparently not doing it together is no longer an option. It feels strange realizing that we are all going to be friends no mater were we end, because we are pack. I might not completely understand the concept of it, since I am the only none-skinwalker in the group, but I know these people are the family I have chosen.

“I am sorry for not telling you.”

Derek chuckles in my ear and tightens his arms around me. It calms me enough to slow my heartbeat, knowing Derek will know just how nervous I am about the whole thing.

“I am happy for you. We will figure out a way to make us work.”

“Are you sure?”

“You are not getting rid of me that easy.”

The kiss does nothing to calm my heartbeat, but this time I don’t want it to slow down. For the first time in a while, I am not going through life alone. I have people ready to protect me and fight alongside me, if anything bad happens and it probably will.

“Jackson, can I talk to you for a second?”

“You can tell me in front of everybody else, Derek.”

“Are you sure?”

Jackson nods and I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, but Jackson clearly understands my boyfriends’ cryptic ways better than I do.

“After you told me the name of your parents, I did some research and I found out you have an aunt who lives in San Francisco and she wants to meet you when you are ready. This is part of the volunteer work I have been working on, where I reconnect family members.”

Jackson looks so thrilled and confused and it takes all my strength not to be the one to hug him. Instead, I watch Danny envelope Jackson in his arms and I couldn’t be happier for my friends. I can’t even imagine what Jackson must be feeling knowing he has some family out there who wants to meet him and she is not even that far away.

“Thank you, Derek.”

“She wanted to take you in when the accident happened, but she was too young. She looked for you afterwards and she never gave up.”

“I am not even sure what to say… I never had contact with my biological family…”

“Take your time, she understands that she has had a lot longer to wrap her head around the whole thing that you do and she won’t be pushing you.”

At the moment, I can’t help feeling incredibly proud of my boyfriend. He did something incredible for Jackson and he clearly made sure everything from this point on is going to be on Jackson’s terms. He loves these people even if he would never admit it.

 

* * *

 

While the others watch some ridiculous reality program on TV, I find my parents in the kitchen. They look strangely at peach around each other, and I am not quite sure what to do with it. The chance of them ever getting back together is pretty much zero and I feel good about that – there is too much baggage and pain for any of us to try again, but we might be a different kind of family.

“Hey, did you hear the conversation in the living room?”

“No, please tell me, I don’t have to arrest any of your friends.”

“What? No! I got my letter from Stanford University this morning; they accepted me on a full ride based on my scholastic abilities, whatever that means.”

The next second I have two ground people trying to crush me from joy and I have no air left in my lungs to protest. They are absolutely thrilled for me and it feels good to have something this ordinary to be excited about. It feels good to have something besides skinwalkers and Sparks in my life.

“We are so proud of you, Stiles.”

“Thanks mother.”

“Does this mean you won’t stop by as often?”

“Don’t worry, I will make occasional contact.”

“Good. I will go tell the others. I am proud of you, kid.”

He kisses my forehead like he used to when I was a kid. It is strange having everything I never thought I would have back after my mother left us. Including her standing in our kitchen smiling at me like I just gave her the best present in the world.

“Can I ask you about Freya and her mother?”

“You want to know if I had any suspicions and why I didn’t say anything sooner. I had my suspicions, I am not going to pretend otherwise, but I didn’t want to be right. Sif was my friend for years and I didn’t want to believe my friend could do so much harm. I didn’t want to believe that Freya could be so much like her mother, so I had my own investigation, only mine moved slower than yours. I am sorry for not revealing my connection to Freya sooner, but dragging the past into the present and revealing the Wolf Family secret without permission seemed wrong.”

“What was Freya like before everything with Sif?”

“She was the sweetest girl – she never believed in her mother’s radical attitudes, but saw Skinwalkers as a different side of their magic. After Sif died, she became ruthless and detached; a completely different person. I hate that I didn’t do more to help her.”

“It is strange that to think that I could have become like Freya… but I am glad that we are reconnecting even if it is happening slowly.”

 

* * *

 

After my conversation with my mother, I can’t focus so I end up sitting on the back porch looking into the dark. I am not sure what I am supposed to think after realizing just how easily I could have become like Freya Wolf if things had been differently. I don’t even notice Derek walking up to before he stands right next to me talking.

“What is on your mind?”

“I talked to my mother and I can’t shake the feel that I could have easily become Freya Wolf. I could have easily become detached and bitter at the world. I mean I am not even sure I understand what is different about us.”

“You love with everything you have. You love the world for the good and the bad and you will rather blame yourself than consider blaming the world for your problems. It might be his Aleksy genes, but I believe that it is just you being you.”

“You really know the right thing to say.”

Derek’s words and the kiss between us calm my mind. My thoughts slow down enough for me to notice the tension in Derek’s shoulders. It scares me, because through all of this, this has never been my Derek and I am not sure I am ready to know what has him like this.

“We need to talk.”

“You sound serious all of a sudden.”

“I talked to your dad about possibly starting police training in order to become a detective. I love solving puzzles and as much as I love Native American Folklore, it doesn’t exactly pay the bills.”

“What does this mean?”

“It means I need to start police training and I applied to San Jose, which is only 30 minutes from Stanford, but I don’t know if they will accept me.”

“What happens, if they don’t?”

“Then I will need to take the training somewhere else, which means a long distance relationship.”

It startles me to consider having Derek in another city or another state. It kills me, because I know Derek would be brilliant at being a detective and I don’t want to be selfish. I don’t want to say that he can’t do what he wants just because I need him, but I do need him desperately.  

“You will make a brilliant detective.”

“I need you to know that no matter what happens I will be fight for this relationship.”

“I know. What happens to Isaac with you being his official guardian and all?”

The smile on Derek’s face is slightly confusing. Why is he smiling? I know he sees Isaac as a kid brother, meaning he would never go forward with any kind of plans unless he knew it would never affect Isaac in any way. He will protect the kid with everything he has.

“Isaac might have lied to you earlier.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He applied to Berkeley as a Criminology Major. He doesn’t know if they will accept him yet, but apparently, he did really well on the SATs.”

“So what you are saying is that Isaac pretty much want to be your detective partner?”

“He wanted to apply to San Jose with me, but he needs to be older and he needs college experience if he wants a chance of being accepted.”  

“God for him for going after what he really wants.”

I can feel Derek nodding against my chin as he holds me tight. I never noticed how cold it was until the furnace that is my boyfriend made me aware of it. I probably should have worn a jacket before going outside, but my mind really wasn’t working probably.

“Now, I have to ask if you have thought this new career choice through, because I grew up with a father in Law Enforcement and I hated never knowing if he was coming home dead or alive.”

“Being a skinwalker will give me some advantages your father never had.”

“I understand that but I still don’t like it.”

“I am guessing that you don’t like the idea of it anymore if we end up in a long distance relationship for the duration of my training and since it will take me some time to gain mobility in terms of work, it will probably be longer than…”

“Derek, I am not going to lie and say I love it, but we will figure it out. I love you even if you are an idea for risking his life.”

The belly laugh ripped from Derek’s body feels confusing, because I have a feeling he is laughing at me and I have no idea what I have done to warrant it.

“You do realize the irony of you complaining about me risking my life, right?”

Oh… right that might make sense. It doesn’t take long before I am laughing right alongside him, because we really are a strange pair. Derek kissing me helps with my bruised ego, but it doesn’t take before everything about college, police training and risk our lives is the furthest from my mind. All that matters is Derek’s arms holding me as if I am something precious while Derek’s mouth kisses me as if his life depends on it. Heat starts forming in my belly and I know we need to break things off soon if I want to come out of this with my dignity intact.  

Eventually, Derek slows down and I can feel my entire body buzzing with want. I really am a lucky bastard to have an insanely hot boyfriend who loves me more unconditionally.

“How are you handling our agreement about… the physical aspect of our relationship?”

“I am not going to lie; my teenage hormones are driving me crazy, but I am guessing being in a long distance relationship isn’t going to help with the frustration.”

“I really hadn’t noticed the pent up sexual frustration seeping off you in waves.”

“You really aren’t as funny as you think you are.”

“Oh, so you don’t want to hear that we could speed things up a little?”

The look I send him must be answer enough, because the next thing I know Derek is kissing me until I feel like I am floating a little. My skin feels strangely oversensitive and I have a hard time focusing on anything other than Derek.

“I could get used to this if it involved a lot less clothes.”

“You know, you aren’t the only one who have been feeling sexually frustrated lately and I want to make this work. I love you.”

“I don’t want you to feel pressured into anything physical in your relationship and, yes, I see the irony in the eighteen year old reassuring the twenty-three year old boyfriend that is not pushing him into having sex. I am sure it is hilarious.”

Derek seems to think so because he chuckles before kissing me one last time before giving one of those looks that make me feel like the luckiest person in the world.

“We will make it happen. Soon.”

 

* * *

 

The next morning, the Blackwater family stops by on their way out of town. Kaya and her family looks more at ease than ever remember seeing them, but their house being ready and that we solved their arson case might have something to do with it. I am guessing.

“We wanted to thank you, Stiles. You have proven that the world is becoming a brighter place to live and we will tell everybody that we finally have an Aleksy looking out for skinwalkers again.”

“Dad, you promised you wouldn’t go all solemn on us!”

“Kaya…”

“Yes, I know, I will shut up. I will miss you all, you are good people.”

“We will miss you too, all of you.”

“Let’s not be strangers, Stilinski.”

Derek squeezes my hand as we watch the Blackwater family drive off and I realize that some goodbyes aren’t forever. Maybe sometimes it is not goodbye at all. Merely, until next time. So maybe Mr. Blackwater is right. The world might actually be becoming a brighter place.


End file.
